Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God Himself Is Judge
A Psalm of (A)Asaph.
50 (B)The Mighty One, God the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
(C)from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, (D)the perfection of beauty,
(E)God shines forth.
3 Our God comes; he (F)does not keep silence;[a]
before him is a devouring (G)fire,
around him a mighty tempest.
4 (H)He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 “Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made (I)a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
6 (J)The heavens declare his righteousness,
for (K)God himself is judge! Selah
7 (L)“Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
O Israel, I will testify against you.
(M)I am God, your God.
8 Not for your sacrifices (N)do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9 I will not accept a bull from your house
or goats from your folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 (O)I know all the birds of the hills,
and all that moves in the field is mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
(P)for the world and its fullness are mine.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 (Q)Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,[b]
and (R)perform your vows to the Most High,
15 and (S)call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will (T)deliver you, and you shall (U)glorify me.”
16 But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to recite my statutes
or take my covenant on your lips?
17 (V)For you hate discipline,
(W)and you cast my words behind you.
18 If you see a thief, (X)you are pleased with him,
(Y)and you keep company with adulterers.
19 “You give your mouth free rein for evil,
(Z)and your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;
you slander your own mother's son.
21 These things you have done, and I (AA)have been silent;
you thought that I[c] was one like yourself.
But now I (AB)rebuke you and (AC)lay the charge before you.
22 “Mark this, then, you who (AD)forget God,
lest I tear you apart, and there be (AE)none to deliver!
23 The one who (AF)offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
to one who (AG)orders his way rightly
I will show the (AH)salvation of God!”
12 For I know how many are your transgressions
and how great are your sins—
you who afflict the righteous, who (A)take a bribe,
and (B)turn aside the needy (C)in the gate.
13 Therefore he who is prudent will (D)keep silent in such a time,
(E)for it is an evil time.
14 (F)Seek good, and not evil,
that you may live;
and so the Lord, (G)the God of hosts, will be with you,
as you have said.
15 (H)Hate evil, and love good,
and establish justice (I)in the gate;
(J)it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,
will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
16 Therefore thus says the Lord, (K)the God of hosts, the Lord:
“In all the squares (L)there shall be wailing,
and in all the streets they shall say, ‘Alas! Alas!’
They shall call the farmers to mourning
and (M)to wailing those who are skilled in lamentation,
17 and in all vineyards there shall be wailing,
for (N)I will pass through your midst,”
says the Lord.
Let Justice Roll Down
18 Woe to you who desire (O)the day of the Lord!
Why would you have the day of the Lord?
(P)It is darkness, and not light,
19 (Q)as if a man fled from a lion,
and a bear met him,
or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall,
and a serpent bit him.
20 (R)Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light,
and gloom with no brightness in it?
21 (S)“I hate, I despise your feasts,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 (T)Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,
I will not look upon them.
23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;
to (U)the melody of your harps I will not listen.
24 But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
The Parable of the Ten Minas
11 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because (A)they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12 He said therefore, (B)“A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling (C)ten of his servants,[a] he gave them ten minas,[b] and said to them, ‘Engage in business (D)until I come.’ 14 But (E)his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. 16 The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant![c] Because you have been (F)faithful in a very little, (G)you shall have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in (H)a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are (I)a severe man. You take (J)what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He said to him, (K)‘I will condemn you with your own words, (L)you wicked servant! You knew that I was (M)a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ 24 And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ 26 ‘I tell you that (N)to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But (O)as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and (P)slaughter them before me.’”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.