Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 50[a]
A psalm by Asaph.
50 El, God, the Lord[b] has spoken,
and summoned the earth to come from the east and west.[c]
2 From Zion, the most beautiful of all places,[d]
God has come in splendor.[e]
3 “May our God come
and not be silent.”
Consuming fire goes ahead of him,
and all around him a storm rages.[f]
4 He summons the heavens above,
as well as the earth, so that he might judge his people.[g]
5 He says:[h]
“Assemble my covenant people before me,[i]
those who ratified a covenant with me by sacrifice.”[j]
6 The heavens declare his fairness,[k]
for God is judge.[l] (Selah)
7 He says:[m]
“Listen, my people. I am speaking!
Listen, Israel. I am accusing you.[n]
I am God, your God!
8 I am not condemning[o] you because of your sacrifices,
or because of your burnt sacrifices that you continually offer me.[p]
9 I do not need to take[q] a bull from your household
or goats from your sheepfolds.
10 For every wild animal in the forest belongs to me,
as well as the cattle that graze on a thousand hills.[r]
11 I keep track of[s] every bird in the hills,
and the insects[t] of the field are mine.
12 Even if I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and all it contains belong to me.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls?
Do I drink the blood of goats?[u]
14 Present to God a thank offering.
Repay your vows to the Most High.[v]
15 Pray to me when you are in trouble.[w]
I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”[x]
16 God says this to the evildoer:[y]
“How can you declare my commands,
and talk about my covenant?[z]
17 For you hate instruction
and reject my words.[aa]
18 When you see a thief, you join him;[ab]
you associate with men who are unfaithful to their wives.[ac]
19 You do damage with words,[ad]
and use your tongue to deceive.[ae]
20 You plot against your brother;[af]
you slander your own brother.[ag]
21 When you did these things, I was silent,[ah]
so you thought I was exactly like you.[ai]
But now I will condemn[aj] you
and state my case against you.[ak]
22 Carefully consider this, you who reject God.[al]
Otherwise I will rip you to shreds[am]
and no one will be able to rescue you.
23 Whoever presents a thank offering honors me.[an]
To whoever obeys my commands, I will reveal my power to deliver.”[ao]
The Hypocrisy of False Fasting
7 In King Darius’ fourth year, on the fourth day of Kislev, the ninth month,[a] the Lord’s message came to Zechariah. 2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melech and their companions to seek the Lord’s favor 3 by asking both the priests of the temple[b] of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies and the prophets, “Should we weep in the fifth month,[c] fasting as we have done over the years?” 4 The message of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies then came to me, 5 “Speak to all the people and priests of the land as follows: ‘When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh[d] months through all these seventy years, did you truly fast for me—for me, indeed? 6 And now when you eat and drink, are you not doing so for yourselves? 7 Should you not have obeyed the words that the Lord cried out through the former prophets when Jerusalem was peacefully inhabited and her surrounding cities, the Negev, and the foothills[e] were also populated?’”
8 Again the Lord’s message came to Zechariah: 9 “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies said, ‘Exercise true judgment and show brotherhood and compassion to each other. 10 You must not oppress the widow, the orphan, the resident foreigner, or the poor, nor should anyone secretly plot evil against his fellow citizen.’[f]
11 “But they refused to pay attention, turning away stubbornly and stopping their ears so they could not hear. 12 Indeed, they made their hearts as hard as diamond,[g] so that they could not obey the law of Moses[h] and the other words the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies poured out great wrath.
13 “‘Just as I[i] called out, but they would not obey, so they will call out, but I will not listen,’ the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says. 14 ‘Rather, I will sweep them away in a storm into all the nations they are not familiar with.’ Thus the land became desolate because of them, with no one crossing through or returning, for they had made the fruitful[j] land a waste.”
5 Now I desire to remind you (even though you have been fully informed of these facts[a] once for all[b]) that Jesus,[c] having saved the[d] people out of the land of Egypt, later[e] destroyed those who did not believe. 6 You also know that[f] the angels who did not keep within their proper domain[g] but abandoned their own place of residence, he has kept[h] in eternal chains[i] in utter[j] darkness, locked up[k] for the judgment of the great Day. 7 So also[l] Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns,[m] since they indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire[n] in a way similar to[o] these angels,[p] are now displayed as an example by suffering the punishment of eternal fire.
8 Yet these men,[q] as a result of their dreams,[r] defile the flesh, reject authority,[s] and insult[t] the glorious ones.[u] 9 But even[v] when Michael the archangel[w] was arguing with the devil and debating with him[x] concerning Moses’ body, he did not dare to bring a slanderous judgment, but said, “May the Lord rebuke you!” 10 But these men do not understand the things they slander, and they are being destroyed by the very things that, like irrational animals, they instinctively comprehend.[y] 11 Woe to them! For they have traveled down Cain’s path,[z] and because of greed[aa] have abandoned themselves[ab] to[ac] Balaam’s error; hence,[ad] they will certainly perish[ae] in Korah’s rebellion. 12 These men are[af] dangerous reefs[ag] at your love feasts,[ah] feasting without reverence,[ai] feeding only themselves.[aj] They are[ak] waterless[al] clouds, carried along by the winds; autumn trees without fruit[am]—twice dead,[an] uprooted; 13 wild sea waves,[ao] spewing out the foam of[ap] their shame;[aq] wayward stars[ar] for whom the utter depths of eternal darkness[as] have been reserved.
14 Now Enoch, the seventh in descent beginning with Adam,[at] even prophesied of them,[au] saying, “Look! The Lord is coming[av] with thousands and thousands[aw] of his holy ones, 15 to execute judgment on[ax] all, and to convict every person[ay] of all their thoroughly ungodly deeds[az] that they have committed,[ba] and of all the harsh words that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”[bb] 16 These people are grumblers and[bc] fault-finders who go[bd] wherever their desires lead them,[be] and they give bombastic speeches,[bf] enchanting folks[bg] for their own gain.[bh]
Exhortation to the Faithful
17 But you, dear friends—recall the predictions[bi] foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.[bj] 18 For they said to you, “At the end of time[bk] there will come[bl] scoffers, propelled by their own ungodly desires.”[bm] 19 These people are divisive,[bn] worldly,[bo] devoid of the Spirit.[bp] 20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit,[bq] 21 maintain[br] yourselves in the love of God, while anticipating[bs] the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings eternal life.[bt]
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