Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁴⁰ So the Lord became angry with his people.
    He hated his own children.
⁴¹ He let other nations defeat them.
    He let their enemies rule over them.
⁴² Their enemies were cruel to them.
    Their enemies kept them under their power.
⁴³ The Lord saved his people many times.
    But they continued to turn against him.
    So they became even more wicked.

⁴⁴ But God saw their misery.
    He heard their cry.
⁴⁵ He remembered his agreement with them.
    And he felt sorry for them because of his great love.
⁴⁶ He caused them to be pitied
    by those who held them captive.

⁴⁷ Lord our God, save us.
    Bring us back from other nations.
Then we will thank you.
    Then we will gladly praise you.

⁴⁸ Praise the Lord, the God of Israel.
    He always was and always will be.
    Let all the people say, “Amen!”

Praise the Lord!

“Don’t live like the people from other nations.
    Don’t be afraid of special signs in the sky,
    even though the other nations are afraid of them.
³ The customs of other people are worth nothing.
    Their idols are nothing but wood from the forest.
    They are made by a worker with his chisel.
⁴ They decorate their idols with silver and gold.
    With hammers and nails they fasten them down.
    That keeps them from falling over.
⁵ Their idols are like scarecrows in melon fields.
    They cannot talk.
They cannot walk.
    They must be carried.
Do not be afraid of those idols.
    They can’t hurt you.
    And they can’t help you either!”

⁶ Lord, there is no one like you.
    You are great.
    Your name is great and powerful.
⁷ Everyone should respect you, King of all nations.
    You deserve their respect.
There are many wise men among the nations.
    And there are wise men in all the kingdoms.
    But none of them are as wise as you.
⁸ Those wise men are stupid and foolish.
    Their teachings come from worthless wooden idols.
⁹ They use silver from Tarshish
    and gold from Uphaz.
Their idols are made by craftsmen and goldsmiths.
    They put blue and purple clothes on the idols.
    All these things are made by skilled workers.
¹⁰ But the Lord is the only true God.
    He is the only living God, King forever.
The earth shakes when he is angry.
    The nations cannot stand up to his anger.

¹² God made the earth by his power.
    He used his wisdom to build the world.
    He used his understanding to stretch out the skies.
¹³ When he thunders, the waters in the skies roar.
    He makes clouds rise in the sky all over the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain.
    He brings out the wind from his storehouses.

¹⁴ People are so stupid and know so little.
    Goldsmiths are made ashamed by their idols.
Those statues are only false gods.
    They have no breath in them.
¹⁵ They are worth nothing.
    People make fun of them.
When they are judged, they will be destroyed.
¹⁶ But God, who is Jacob’s Portion, is not like the idols.
    God made everything.
And he made Israel to be his special people.
    The Lord of heaven’s armies is his name.