Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁴ Those who were against you shouted in your meeting place.
    They raised their flags there.
⁵ They came with axes raised
    as if to cut down a forest of trees.
⁶ They smashed the carved panels
    with their axes and hatchets.
⁷ They burned your Temple to the ground.
    They have made the place where you live unclean.
⁸ They thought, “We will completely crush them!”
    They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land.
⁹ We do not see any signs.
    There are no more prophets.
    And no one knows how long this will last.
¹⁰ God, how much longer will the enemy make fun of you?
    Will they insult you forever?
¹¹ Why do you hold back your power?
    Bring your power out in the open and destroy them!

¹² God, you have been our king for a long time.
    You have saved this country.
¹³ You split open the sea by your power.
    You broke the heads of the sea monster.
¹⁴ You smashed the heads of the monster Leviathan.
    You gave him to the desert creatures as food.
¹⁵ You opened up the springs and streams.
    And you made the rivers run dry.
¹⁶ Both the day and the night are yours.
    You made the sun and the moon.
¹⁷ You made all the limits on the earth.
    You created summer and winter.

¹⁸ Lord, remember how the enemy insulted you.
    Remember how those foolish people turned away from you.
¹⁹ Do not give us, your doves, to those wild animals.
    Never forget your poor people.
²⁰ Remember the agreement you made with us
    because violence fills every dark corner of this land.
²¹ Do not let your suffering people be disgraced.
    The poor and helpless people praise you.

²² God, come and defend yourself.
    Remember the insults that come from those foolish people all day long.
²³ Don’t forget what your enemies said.
    Don’t forget their roar as they rise against you always.

⁸ How terrible it will be for you who add more houses to your houses
    and more fields to your fields.
Finally there is no room left for other people.
    Then you are left alone in the land.

“The fine houses will be destroyed.
    The large and beautiful houses will be left empty.
¹⁰ At that time a ten-acre vineyard will make only six gallons of wine.
    And ten bushels of seed will grow only half a bushel of grain.”

¹¹ How terrible it will be for people who rise early in the morning
    to look for strong drink.
They stay awake late at night,
    becoming drunk with wine.
¹² At their parties they have lyres, harps,
    tambourines, flutes and wine.
They don’t see what the Lord has done.
    They don’t notice the work of his hands.
¹³ So my people will be captured and taken away
    because they don’t really know me.
All the great men will die of hunger.
    The common people will die of thirst.
¹⁴ So the place where the dead are wants more and more people.
    It opens its mouth wide.
Jerusalem’s important men will go down into it.
    And the common people will go down into it.
¹⁵ So the common people and the great people will be humbled.
    Those who are proud will be humbled.
¹⁶ The Lord of heaven’s armies will receive glory by judging fairly.
    The holy God will show himself holy by doing what is right.
¹⁷ Then the sheep will go anywhere they want.
    Lambs will feed on the land that rich people once owned.

¹⁸ How terrible it will be for those people!
    They pull their guilt and sins behind them
    as people pull wagons with ropes.
¹⁹ They say, “Let’s see God hurry.
    Let’s see him do his work soon.
    We want to see it.
Let’s see the plan of the Holy One of Israel happen soon.
    Then we would know what it really is.”

²⁰ How terrible it will be for people who call good things bad
    and bad things good.
They think darkness is light
    and light is darkness.
They think sour is sweet
    and sweet is sour.

²¹ How terrible it will be for people who think they are wise.
    They think they are clever.

²² How terrible it will be for people who are famous for drinking wine.
    They are champions at mixing drinks.
²³ They take money to set the guilty free.
    But they don’t allow good people to be judged fairly.