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]
12 Certainly[a] I am aware of[b] your many rebellious acts[c]
and your numerous sins.
You[d] torment the innocent, you take bribes,
and you deny justice to[e] the needy at the city gate.[f]
13 For this reason whoever is smart[g] keeps quiet[h] in such a time,
for it is an evil[i] time.
14 Seek good and not evil so you can live!
Then the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies just might be with you,
as you claim he is.
15 Hate what is wrong, love what is right.
Promote[j] justice at the city gate.[k]
Maybe the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will have mercy on[l] those who are left from[m] Joseph.[n]
16 Because of Israel’s sins[o] this is what the Lord, the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[p] says:
“In all the squares there will be wailing,
in all the streets they will mourn the dead.[q]
They will tell the field workers[r] to lament
and the professional mourners[s] to wail.
17 In all the vineyards there will be wailing,
for I will pass through[t] your midst,” says the Lord.
The Lord Demands Justice
18 Woe[u] to those who wish for the day of the Lord!
Why do you want the Lord’s day of judgment to come?
It will bring darkness, not light.
19 Disaster will be inescapable,[v]
as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear,
then escaped into[w] a house,
leaned his hand against the wall,
and was bitten by a poisonous snake.
20 Don’t you realize the Lord’s day of judgment will bring[x] darkness, not light—
gloomy blackness, not bright light?
21 “I absolutely despise[y] your festivals!
I get no pleasure[z] from your religious assemblies.
22 Even if you offer me burnt and grain offerings,[aa] I will not be satisfied;
I will not look with favor on your peace offerings of fattened calves.[ab]
23 Take away from me your[ac] noisy songs;
I don’t want to hear the music of your stringed instruments.[ad]
24 Justice must flow like torrents of water,
righteous actions[ae] like a stream that never dries up.
The Parable of the Ten Minas
11 While the people were listening to these things, Jesus[a] proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they thought[b] that the kingdom of God[c] was going to[d] appear immediately. 12 Therefore he said, “A nobleman[e] went to a distant country to receive[f] for himself a kingdom and then return.[g] 13 And he summoned ten of his slaves,[h] gave them ten minas,[i] and said to them, ‘Do business with these until I come back.’ 14 But his citizens[j] hated[k] him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man[l] to be king[m] over us!’ 15 When[n] he returned after receiving the kingdom, he summoned[o] these slaves to whom he had given the money. He wanted[p] to know how much they had earned[q] by trading. 16 So[r] the first one came before him and said, ‘Sir,[s] your mina[t] has made ten minas more.’ 17 And the king[u] said to him, ‘Well done, good slave! Because you have been faithful[v] in a very small matter, you will have authority[w] over ten cities.’ 18 Then[x] the second one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 So[y] the king[z] said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 Then another[aa] slave[ab] came and said, ‘Sir, here is[ac] your mina that I put away for safekeeping[ad] in a piece of cloth.[ae] 21 For I was afraid of you, because you are a severe[af] man. You withdraw[ag] what you did not deposit[ah] and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 The king[ai] said to him, ‘I will judge you by your own words,[aj] you wicked slave![ak] So you knew, did you, that I was a severe[al] man, withdrawing what I didn’t deposit and reaping what I didn’t sow? 23 Why then didn’t you put[am] my money in the bank,[an] so that when I returned I could have collected it with interest?’ 24 And he said to his attendants,[ao] ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has ten.’[ap] 25 But[aq] they said to him, ‘Sir, he has ten minas already!’[ar] 26 ‘I tell you that everyone who has will be given more,[as] but from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.[at] 27 But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be their king,[au] bring them here and slaughter[av] them[aw] in front of me!’”
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