Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 52[a]
The Deceitful Tongue
1 For the leader. A maskil of David, 2 when Doeg the Edomite entered and reported to Saul, saying to him: “David has entered the house of Ahimelech.”(A)
I
3 Why do you glory in what is evil, you who are mighty by the mercy of God?
All day long
4 you are thinking up intrigues;
your tongue is like a sharpened razor,
you worker of deceit.(B)
5 You love evil more than good,
lying rather than saying what is right.(C)
Selah
6 You love all the words that create confusion,
you deceitful tongue.(D)
II
7 God too will strike you down forever,
he will lay hold of you and pluck you from your tent,
uproot you from the land of the living.(E)
Selah
8 The righteous will see and they will fear;
but they will laugh at him:(F)
9 “Behold the man! He did not take God as his refuge,
but he trusted in the abundance of his wealth,
and grew powerful through his wickedness.”(G)
III
Chapter 24
Covenant Ceremony. 1 (A)Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem, summoning the elders, leaders, judges, and officers of Israel. When they stood in ranks before God, 2 Joshua addressed all the people: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: In times past your ancestors, down to Terah,(B) father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River[a] and served other gods.
11 Once you crossed the Jordan(A) and came to Jericho, the citizens of Jericho fought against you, but I delivered them also into your power. 12 And I sent the hornets[a] ahead of you which drove them—the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites—out of your way; it was not your sword or your bow.(B) 13 I gave you a land you did not till and cities you did not build, to dwell in; you ate of vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.(C)
14 (D)“Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve him completely and sincerely. Cast out the gods your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 (E)If it is displeasing to you to serve the Lord, choose today whom you will serve, the gods your ancestors served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are dwelling. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
16 But the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods. 17 For it was the Lord, our God, who brought us and our ancestors up out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. He performed those great signs before our very eyes and protected us along our entire journey and among all the peoples through whom we passed. 18 At our approach the Lord drove out all the peoples, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”
19 Joshua in turn said to the people, “You may not be able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God; he is a passionate God(F) who will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. 20 If you forsake the Lord and serve strange gods, he will then do evil to you and destroy you, after having done you good.”
21 But the people answered Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.” 22 Joshua therefore said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.” They replied, “We are witnesses!” 23 “Now, therefore, put away the foreign gods that are among you and turn your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” 24 Then the people promised Joshua, “We will serve the Lord, our God, and will listen to his voice.”
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem. 26 Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the terebinth that was in the sanctuary of the Lord.(G) 27 And Joshua said to all the people, “This stone shall be our witness,(H) for it has heard all the words which the Lord spoke to us. It shall be a witness against you, should you wish to deny your God.” 28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to their own heritage.(I)
9 Well, then, are we better off? Not entirely, for we have already brought the charge against Jews and Greeks alike that they are all under the domination of sin,(A) 10 as it is written:(B)
“There is no one just, not one,
11 there is no one who understands,
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have gone astray; all alike are worthless;
there is not one who does good,
[there is not] even one.
13 Their throats are open graves;
they deceive with their tongues;
the venom of asps is on their lips;(C)
14 their mouths are full of bitter cursing.(D)
15 Their feet are quick to shed blood;(E)
16 ruin and misery are in their ways,
17 and the way of peace they know not.
18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.”(F)
19 Now we know that what the law[a] says is addressed to those under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world stand accountable to God,(G) 20 since no human being will be justified in his sight[b] by observing the law; for through the law comes consciousness of sin.(H)
III. Justification Through Faith in Christ
Justification Apart from the Law.[c] 21 But now[d] the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, though testified to by the law and the prophets,(I) 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction;(J)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.