Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Book III
Psalms 73–89
A psalm of Asaph.
73 God is truly good to Israel.
He is good to those who have pure hearts.
2 But my feet had almost slipped.
I had almost tripped and fallen.
3 I saw that proud and sinful people were doing well.
And I began to long for what they had.
4 They don’t have any troubles.
Their bodies are healthy and strong.
5 They don’t have the problems most people have.
They don’t suffer as other people do.
6 Their pride is like a necklace.
They put on meanness as if it were their clothes.
7 Many sins come out of their hard and stubborn hearts.
There is no limit to the evil things they can think up.
8 They laugh at others and speak words of hatred.
They are proud. They warn others about the harm they can do to them.
9 They brag as if they owned heaven itself.
They talk as if they controlled the earth.
10 So people listen to them.
They lap up their words like water.
11 They say, “How would God know what we’re doing?
Does the Most High God know anything?”
12 Here is what sinful people are like.
They don’t have a care in the world.
They keep getting richer and richer.
13 It seems as if I have kept my heart pure for no reason.
It didn’t do me any good to wash my hands
to show that I wasn’t guilty of doing anything wrong.
14 Day after day I’ve been in pain.
God has punished me in a new way every morning.
15 What if I had talked like that?
Then I wouldn’t have been faithful to God’s children.
16 I tried to understand it all.
But it was more than I could handle.
17 It troubled me until I entered God’s temple.
Then I understood what will finally happen to bad people.
18 God, I’m sure you will make them slip and fall.
You will throw them down and destroy them.
19 It will happen very suddenly.
A terrible death will take them away completely.
20 A dream goes away when a person wakes up.
Lord, it will be like that when you rise up.
It will be as if those people were only a dream.
21 At one time my heart was sad
and my spirit was bitter.
22 I didn’t have any sense. I didn’t know anything.
I acted like a wild animal toward you.
23 But I am always with you.
You hold me by my right hand.
24 You give me wise advice to guide me.
And when I die, you will take me away
into the glory of heaven.
25 I don’t have anyone in heaven but you.
I don’t want anything on earth besides you.
26 My body and my heart may grow weak.
God, you give strength to my heart.
You are everything I will ever need.
27 Those who don’t want anything to do with you will die.
You destroy all those who aren’t faithful to you.
28 But I am close to you. And that’s good.
Lord and King, I have made you my place of safety.
I will talk about everything you have done.
Jonah Goes to Nineveh
3 A message from the Lord came to Jonah a second time. The Lord said, 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce to its people the message I give you.”
3 Jonah obeyed the Lord. He went to Nineveh. It was a very large city. In fact, it took about three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began by going one whole day into the city. As he went, he announced, “In 40 days Nineveh will be destroyed.” 5 The people of Nineveh believed God’s warning. So they decided not to eat any food for a while. And all of them put on the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad. That’s what everyone did, from the least important of them to the most important.
6 Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh. He got up from his throne. He took off his royal robes. He also dressed himself in the clothing of sadness. And then he sat down in the dust. 7 Here is the message he sent out to the people of Nineveh.
“I and my nobles give this order.
Don’t let people or animals taste anything. That includes your herds and flocks. People and animals must not eat or drink anything. 8 Let people and animals alike be covered with the clothing of sadness. All of you must call out to God with all your hearts. Stop doing what is evil. Don’t harm others. 9 Who knows? God might take pity on us. He might not be angry with us anymore. Then we won’t die.”
10 God saw what they did. He saw that they stopped doing what was evil. So he took pity on them. He didn’t destroy them as he had said he would.
8 Dear friends, here is one thing you must not forget. With the Lord a day is like a thousand years. And a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow to keep his promise. He is not slow in the way some people understand it. Instead, he is patient with you. He doesn’t want anyone to be destroyed. Instead, he wants all people to turn away from their sins.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar. Fire will destroy everything in them. God will judge the earth and everything done in it.
11 So everything will be destroyed in this way. And what kind of people should you be? You should lead holy and godly lives. 12 Live like this as you look forward to the day of God. Living like this will make the day come more quickly. On that day fire will destroy the heavens. Its heat will melt everything in them. 13 But we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth. Godliness will live there. All this is in keeping with God’s promise.
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.