Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 83

A song. A Psalm of Asaph.

¹ Keep not silence, O God; hold not Your peace or be still, O God.

² For, behold, Your enemies are in tumult, and those who hate You have raised their heads.^(A)

³ They lay crafty schemes against Your people and consult together against Your hidden and precious ones.

⁴ They have said, Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be in remembrance no more.

⁵ For they have consulted together with one accord and one heart; against You they make a covenant—

⁶ The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites,

⁷ Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, the Philistines, with the inhabitants of Tyre.

⁸ Assyria also has joined with them; they have helped the children of Lot [the Ammonites and the Moabites] and have been an arm to them. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

⁹ Do to them as [You did to] the Midianites, as to Sisera and Jabin at the brook of Kishon,^(B)

¹⁰ Who perished at Endor, who became like manure for the earth.

¹¹ Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, yes, all their princes as Zebah and Zalmunna,^(C)

¹² Who say, Let us take possession for ourselves of the pastures of God.

¹³ O my God, make them like whirling dust, like stubble or chaff before the wind!

¹⁴ As fire consumes the forest, and as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,

¹⁵ So pursue and afflict them with Your tempest and terrify them with Your tornado or hurricane.

¹⁶ Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek, inquire for, and insistently require Your name, O Lord.

¹⁷ Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; yes, let them be put to shame and perish,

¹⁸ That they may know that You, Whose name alone is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth.

⁵ Then I will draw near to you for judgment; I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against the false swearers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, and who turn aside the temporary resident from his right and fear not Me, says the Lord of hosts.

⁶ For I am the Lord, I do not change; that is why you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.

⁷ Even from the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My ordinances and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, How shall we return?

⁸ Will a man rob or defraud God? Yet you rob and defraud Me. But you say, In what way do we rob or defraud You? [You have withheld your] tithes and offerings.

⁹ You are cursed with the curse, for you are robbing Me, even this whole nation.^(A)

¹⁰ Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.^(B)

¹¹ And I will rebuke the devourer [insects and plagues] for your sakes and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine drop its fruit before the time in the field, says the Lord of hosts.

¹² And all nations shall call you happy and blessed, for you shall be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

2 And Jesus having returned to Capernaum, after some days it was rumored about that He was in the house [probably Peter’s].

² And so many people gathered together there that there was no longer room [for them], not even around the door; and He was discussing the Word.

³ Then they came, bringing a paralytic to Him, who had been picked up and was being carried by four men.

⁴ And when they could not get him to a place in front of Jesus because of the throng, they dug through the roof above Him; and when they had ^[a]scooped out an opening, they let down the [^[b]thickly padded] quilt or mat upon which the paralyzed man lay.

⁵ And when Jesus saw their faith [their confidence in God through Him], He said to the paralyzed man, Son, your sins are forgiven [you] and put away [that is, the ^[c]penalty is remitted, the sense of guilt removed, and you are made upright and in right standing with God].

⁶ Now some of the scribes were sitting there, holding a dialogue with themselves as they questioned in their hearts,

⁷ Why does this ^[d]Man talk like this? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins [^[e]remove guilt, remit the penalty, and bestow righteousness instead] except God alone?

⁸ And at once Jesus, becoming fully aware in His spirit that they thus debated within themselves, said to them, Why do you argue (debate, reason) about all this in your hearts?

⁹ Which is easier: to say to the paralyzed man, Your sins are forgiven and ^[f]put away, or to say, Rise, take up your sleeping pad or mat, and start walking about [and ^[g]keep on walking]?

¹⁰ But that you may know positively and beyond a doubt that the Son of Man has right and authority and power on earth to forgive sins—He said to the paralyzed man,

¹¹ I say to you, arise, pick up and carry your sleeping pad or mat, and be going on home.

¹² And he arose at once and picked up the sleeping pad or mat and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and ^[h] recognized and praised and thanked God, saying, We have never seen anything like this before!