Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Cry for Justice
A psalm of Asaph [C a Levitical musician, a descendant of Gershon, at the time of David; 1 Chr. 6:39; 15:17; 2 Chr. 5:12].
82 God ·is in charge of the great meeting [L takes his place/presides in the great assembly/or the assembly of the gods/divine council; C the angels (powers and authorities; Eph. 6:12) are here called “gods”];
he judges among the “gods” [John 10:35–36].
2 He says, “How long will you ·defend evil people [or judge unfairly]?
How long will you show ·greater kindness [favor; preference] to the wicked? ·
3 ·Defend [Judge] the ·weak [or poor] and the orphans;
·defend the rights of [vindicate] the poor and ·suffering [needy].
4 ·Save [Rescue] the ·weak [or poor] and helpless;
·free [protect] them from the ·power [L hand] of the wicked.
5 “You know nothing. You don’t understand.
You walk in the dark,
while the ·world is falling apart [L foundations of the earth are tottering].
6 I said, ‘You are “gods.”
You are all sons of God Most High.’
7 But you will die like any other person;
you will fall like all the ·leaders [princes; C God will punish these evil angels].”
8 God, ·come [rise up] and judge the earth,
because you ·own [inherit] all the nations.
The People of Judah
4 This is what the Lord says:
“For ·the many [L three, even four; 2:1] ·crimes [sins; transgressions] of Judah,
I will ·punish them [L not turn back/grant a reprieve].
They rejected the ·teachings [law; L Torah] of the Lord
and did not ·keep [guard] his ·commands [statutes; ordinances; requirements];
they ·followed the same gods [or have been led astray by the same lies]
as their ·ancestors [fathers] had followed.
5 So I will send fire on Judah,
and it will ·destroy [consume; devour] the ·strong buildings [fortresses; palaces] of Jerusalem.”
Israel Is Punished
6 This is what the Lord says:
“For ·the many [L three, even four; 2:1] ·crimes [sins; transgressions] of Israel,
I will ·punish them [L not turn back/grant a reprieve].
For silver, they sell ·people who have done nothing wrong [the innocent/righteous];
they sell the ·poor [needy] to buy a pair of sandals.
7 They ·walk [trample] on ·poor people [L the heads of the poor] as if they were ·dirt [L the dust of the ground/earth],
and they ·refuse to be fair to [deny justice to; or push away] those who are ·suffering [afflicted].
Fathers and sons ·have sexual relations with [L go in to] the same woman,
and so they ·ruin [defile; profane] my holy name.
8 ·As they worship at their altars [L Beside every altar],
they lie down on clothes taken ·from the poor [L in pledge; C as collateral for a debt; Deut. 24:12–13].
They fine people,
and with that money they buy wine to drink in the house of their god.
9 “But it was I who destroyed the Amorites before them,
who were tall like cedar trees and as strong as oaks—
I destroyed ·them completely [L their fruit above and roots below].
10 It was I who brought you from the land of Egypt
and led you for forty years through the ·desert [wilderness]
·so I could give you [L to possess] the land of the Amorites.
11 I made some of your children to be prophets
and some of your young people to be Nazirites [Num. 6:2].
·People [L Sons/T Children] of Israel, isn’t this true?” says the Lord.
9 “·Jacob’s sons [L The patriarchs] became jealous of Joseph and sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him 10 and ·saved [rescued; delivered] him from all his ·troubles [afflictions]. God gave Joseph ·wisdom to gain the favor of [L favor and wisdom before] Pharaoh, king of Egypt. The king made him governor of Egypt and put him in charge of ·all the people in his palace [L his whole household].
11 “Then all the land of Egypt and Canaan experienced a famine, and the people suffered very much. ·Jacob’s sons, our ancestors, [L Our fathers] could not find anything to eat. 12 But when Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent ·his sons [L our fathers] there. This was their first trip to Egypt [Gen. 42]. 13 When they went there a second time [Gen. 43—45], Joseph ·told his brothers who he was [made himself known to his brothers], and ·the king [L Pharaoh] learned about Joseph’s family. 14 Then Joseph sent messengers to ·invite [summon; call] Jacob, his father, to come to Egypt along with all his relatives (seventy-five persons altogether). 15 So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and ·his sons [L our fathers] died. 16 Later their bodies were moved to Shechem and put in a grave there. (It was the same grave Abraham had bought for a sum of ·money [L silver] from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.) [C Stephen combines two accounts, Abraham’s purchase of a field in Hebron (Gen. 23:3–20) and Jacob’s purchase of a field in Shechem (Josh. 24:32).]
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