Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁴ They are full of proud words.
    Those who do evil brag about what they have done.
⁵ Lord, they crush your people.
    They make your children suffer.
⁶ They kill widows and foreigners.
    They murder orphans.
⁷ They say, “The Lord doesn’t see.
    The God of Jacob doesn’t notice.”

⁸ You stupid ones among the people, pay attention.
    You fools, when will you understand?
⁹ Can’t the creator of ears hear?
    Can’t the maker of eyes see?
¹⁰ Won’t the one who corrects nations punish you?
    Doesn’t the teacher of men know everything?
¹¹ The Lord knows what people think.
    He knows they are just a puff of wind.

¹² Lord, those you correct are happy.
    You give them your teachings.
¹³ You give them rest from times of trouble
    until a grave is dug for the wicked.
¹⁴ The Lord won’t leave his people.
    He will not give up his children.
¹⁵ Judgment will again be fair.
    And all who are honest will follow it.

¹⁶ Who will help me fight against the wicked?
    Who will stand with me against those who do evil?
¹⁷ If the Lord had not helped me,
    I would have died soon.
¹⁸ I said, “I am about to be overwhelmed.”
    But, Lord, your love kept me safe.
¹⁹ I was very worried.
    But you comforted me and made me happy.

²⁰ Crooked leaders cannot be your friends.
    They use the law to cause suffering.
²¹ They join forces against people who do right.
    They sentence to death the innocent.
²² But the Lord protects me like a strong, walled city.
    My God is the rock of my protection.
²³ God will pay them back for their sins.
    He will destroy them for their evil.
    The Lord our God will destroy them.

²⁰ “Announce this message to the family of Jacob.
    And tell it to the nation of Judah:
²¹ Hear this message, you foolish people who have no sense.
    You have eyes, but you don’t really see.
    You have ears, but you don’t really listen.
²² Surely you are afraid of me,” says the Lord.
    “You should shake with fear in my presence.
I am the one who made the beaches to be a border for the sea.
    They keep the water in its place forever.
The waves may pound the beach, but they can’t win over it.
    The waves may roar,
    but they cannot go beyond it.
²³ But the people of Judah are stubborn and have turned against me.
    They have turned aside and gone away from me.
²⁴ They do not say to themselves,
    ‘We should fear the Lord our God.
He gives us autumn and spring rains in their seasons.
    He makes sure we have the harvest at the right time.’
²⁵ But your evil has kept away both rain and harvest.
    Your sins have kept you from enjoying good things.
²⁶ There are wicked men among my people.
    They are like men who make nets for catching birds.
    But they set their traps to catch men instead of birds.
²⁷ Like cages full of birds,
    their houses are full of lies.
They have become rich and powerful.
²⁸     They have grown big and fat.
There is no end to the evil things they do.
    They won’t plead the case of the orphan.
    They won’t help the poor be judged fairly.
²⁹ Shouldn’t I punish the people of Judah for doing these things?” says the Lord.
“I should give a nation such as this the punishment it deserves.

³⁰ “A terrible and shocking thing
    has happened in the land of Judah:
³¹ The prophets tell lies.
    The priests take power into their own hands.
And my people love it this way.
    But what will you do when the end comes?