Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 80[a]
Prayer for the Persecuted People
1 For the director.[b] According to “Lilies.” Eduth. A psalm of Asaph.
2 [c]Listen to us, O shepherd of Israel,[d]
you who lead Joseph like a flock.
As you sit enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
3 over Ephraim,[e] Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Stir up your power
and come to save us.
4 Restore us, O Lord of hosts;
let your face shine[f] upon us,
and we will be saved.
5 O Lord of hosts,[g]
how long will you be angry
at your people’s prayers?
6 You have fed them with the bread of tears
and made them drink tears beyond measure.
7 You have made us an object of contention to our neighbors,
a source of mockery to our enemies.
Chapter 2
Those Who Covet Fields and Homes
1 Woe to those who plot evil,
who lie in their beds planning iniquity.
When morning dawns they perform their wicked deeds
since they have the power to do so.
2 They seize the fields that they covet;
they confiscate houses as well.
They lay hands on the owner of a house,
and take his inheritance as well.
3 Therefore, thus says the Lord:
Behold, I am planning against this people an evil
from which you will not be able to save your necks.
Nor will you walk proudly,
for it will be a time of disaster.
4 On that day they will ridicule you,
and your mournful dirge will be heard:
“We are utterly ruined;
our land has been appropriated by our captors.
Our fields have been awarded to renegades,
and no one can retrieve them.”
5 Therefore, you will have no one
to divide the land by lot
in the assembly of the Lord.
Against Prophets of Ease
6 “Do not preach,” they advise;
“one should not expound on such matters;
disgrace will not overtake us.”
7 O house of Jacob, should it be said:
“Has the Lord’s patience been exhausted?
Does he do such things?
His words only prophesy good
to those who are upright.”
8 But now you have risen up
as an enemy to my people.
You strip the cloaks from travelers
who pass by peacefully,
or from soldiers returning from battle.
9 The women of my people you drive forth
from their pleasant homes
and deprive their children
of my glory forever,
10 commanding them, “Get up and depart,
for you cannot stay here.”
To obtain something worthless for yourselves,
you do not hesitate to practice extortion.
I Will Assemble the Remnant of Israel
11 If someone were to go about
uttering falsehoods and lies, and saying,
“I prophesy that you will have your fill
of wine and strong drink,”
such a man would be the perfect prophet
for a people like this.
12 I will gather all of you together, O Jacob;
I will assemble the remnant of Israel.
I will gather them together
like sheep into a fold,
like a flock in a pasture;
no longer will they be filled with panic.
13 With their leader proceeding before them,
they shall break through the gate and go out.
Their king will go forth before them,
the Lord at their head.
15 The Great Trial.[a]“Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation, about which the prophet Daniel spoke, standing in the Holy Place (let the reader understand), 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, 17 the one who is standing on the roof must not come down to collect what is in his house, 18 and someone who is in the field must not turn back to retrieve his coat.
19 “Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that you will not have to take flight in the winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For at that time there will be great suffering that has not been equaled since the beginning of the world until now, and will never again be duplicated. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect they will be shortened.
23 False Messiahs and False Prophets.“Therefore, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There he is,’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise, and they will perform great signs and wonders that are impressive enough to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.
25 “Remember, I have forewarned you about this. 26 So if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out there. If they say, ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For just as lightning comes from the east and is visible even in the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.[b]
29 The Coming of the Son of Man.[c]“Immediately after the distress of those days,
‘the sun will be darkened
and the moon will not give forth its light;
the stars will fall from the sky
and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’
30 “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the peoples of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send forth his angels with a trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
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