Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 62[a]
For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of David.
62 For God alone I patiently wait;[b]
he is the one who delivers me.[c]
2 He alone is my protector[d] and deliverer.
He is my refuge;[e] I will not be upended.[f]
3 How long will you threaten[g] a man like me?
All of you are murderers,[h]
as dangerous as a leaning wall or an unstable fence.[i]
4 They[j] spend all their time planning how to bring their victim[k] down.[l]
They love to use deceit;[m]
they pronounce blessings with their mouths,
but inwardly they utter curses.[n] (Selah)
5 Patiently wait for God alone, my soul![o]
For he is the one who gives me hope.[p]
6 He alone is my protector[q] and deliverer.
He is my refuge;[r] I will not be shaken.
7 God delivers me and exalts me;
God is my strong protector and my shelter.[s]
8 Trust in him at all times, you people!
Pour out your hearts before him.[t]
God is our shelter. (Selah)
9 Men are nothing but a mere breath;
human beings are unreliable.[u]
When they are weighed in the scales,
all of them together are lighter than air.[v]
10 Do not trust in what you can gain by oppression.[w]
Do not put false confidence in what you can gain by robbery.[x]
If wealth increases, do not become attached to it.[y]
11 God has declared one principle;
two principles I have heard:[z]
God is strong,[aa]
12 and you, O Lord, demonstrate loyal love.[ab]
For you repay men for what they do.[ac]
Failure to Learn from the Sin and Judgment of Gibeah
9 O Israel, you have sinned since the time[a] of Gibeah,
and there you have remained.
Did not war overtake the evildoers in Gibeah?
10 When I please,[b] I will discipline them;[c]
I will gather nations together to attack them,[d]
to bind them in chains[e] for their two sins.[f]
Fertility Imagery: Plowing, Sowing, and Reaping
11 Ephraim was a well-trained heifer who loved to thresh grain;
I myself put a fine yoke[g] on her neck.
I will harness Ephraim.
Let Judah plow![h]
Let Jacob break up the unplowed ground[i] for himself!
12 Sow righteousness for yourselves,
reap unfailing love.
Break up the unplowed ground for yourselves,
for it is time to seek the Lord,
until he comes and showers deliverance[j] on you.
13 But you have plowed wickedness;
you have reaped injustice;
you have eaten the fruit of deception.
Because you have depended on your chariots;[k]
you have relied[l] on your many warriors.
Bethel Will Be Destroyed Like Beth Arbel
14 The roar of battle will rise against your people;
all your fortresses will be devastated,
just as Shalman devastated[m] Beth Arbel on the day of battle,
when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.
15 So will it happen to you, O Bethel,
because of your great wickedness!
When that day dawns,[n]
the king of Israel will be destroyed.[o]
Warning to the Rich
5 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud[a] over the miseries that are coming on you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure![b] 4 Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.[c] 5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.[d] 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person, although he does not resist you.[e]
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