Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Prayer for Defense against Enemies.
For the music director; on stringed instruments. A [a]Maskil of David, [b]when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Is David not keeping himself hidden among us?”
54 Save me, God, by (A)Your name,
And [c]vindicate me by (B)Your power.
2 (C)Hear my prayer, God;
(D)Listen to the words of my mouth.
3 For strangers have (E)risen against me
And (F)violent men have (G)sought my [d]life;
They have (H)not set God before them. Selah
5 Then the king of Assyria invaded the entire land, and went up to (A)Samaria and besieged it for three years.
Israel Captive
6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, (B)the king of Assyria captured Samaria and (C)led the people of Israel into exile to Assyria, and (D)settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of (E)Gozan, and (F)in the cities of the Medes.
Why Israel Fell
7 Now (G)this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, (H)who had brought them up from the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; (I)and they had [a]feared other gods. 8 They also [b](J)followed the [c]customs of the nations whom the Lord had driven out from the sons of Israel, and in the customs (K)of the kings of Israel which they had [d]introduced. 9 And the sons of Israel [e]did things secretly against the Lord their God which were not right. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their towns, from (L)watchtower to fortified city. 10 And (M)they set up for themselves memorial stones and [f](N)Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, 11 and there they burned incense on all the high places as the nations did that the Lord had taken into exile before them; and they did evil things, provoking the Lord. 12 They served idols, (O)concerning which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” 13 Yet the (P)Lord warned Israel and Judah [g](Q)through all His prophets and (R)every seer, saying, “(S)Turn back from your evil ways and keep My commandments and My statutes in accordance with all the Law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you [h]through My servants the prophets.” 14 However, they did not listen, but (T)stiffened their neck [i]like their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God. 15 (U)They rejected His statutes and (V)His covenant which He made with their fathers, and His warnings which He [j]gave them. And (W)they followed [k]idols and (X)became empty, and followed the nations that surrounded them, about which the (Y)Lord had commanded them not to do as they did. 16 And they abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves cast metal images: (Z)two calves. And they (AA)made an [l]Asherah, and (AB)worshiped all the heavenly [m]lights, and (AC)served Baal. 17 Then (AD)they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and they (AE)practiced divination and interpreting omens, and (AF)gave themselves over to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him. 18 So the Lord was very angry with Israel, and He (AG)removed them from His [n]sight; (AH)no one was left except the tribe of Judah.
29 “(A)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 and you say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves, that you (B)are [a]sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 [b]Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. 33 You snakes, (C)you [c]offspring of vipers, how [d]will you escape the [e]sentence of [f](D)hell?
34 “(E)Therefore, behold, (F)I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will (G)flog in your synagogues, and (H)persecute from city to city, 35 so that upon you will fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous (I)Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the (J)son of Berechiah, whom (K)you murdered between the [g]temple and the altar. 36 Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon (L)this generation.
Grieving over Jerusalem
37 “(M)Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who (N)kills the prophets and stones those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, (O)the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. 38 Behold, (P)your house is being left to you desolate! 39 For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘(Q)Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
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