Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

(A psalm by David for the music leader.)

A Prayer for the Lord's Help

⁵ After everyone from Judah and Jerusalem had come together at the Lord's temple, Jehoshaphat stood in front of the new courtyard ⁶ and prayed:

You, Lord, are the God our ancestors worshiped, and from heaven you rule every nation in the world. You are so powerful that no one can defeat you. ^7 (A) Our God, you forced out the nations who lived in this land before your people Israel came here, and you gave it to the descendants of your friend Abraham forever. ⁸ Our ancestors lived in this land and built a temple to honor you. ⁹ They believed that whenever this land is struck by war or disease or famine, your people can pray to you at the temple, and you will hear their prayer and save them.

^10 (B) You can see that the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Edom are attacking us! Those are the nations you would not let our ancestors invade on their way from Egypt, so these nations were not destroyed. ¹¹ Now they are coming to take back the land you gave us. ¹² Aren't you going to punish them? We won't stand a chance when this army attacks. We don't know what to do—we are begging for your help.

⁷ You were doing so well until someone made you turn from the truth. ⁸ And that person was certainly not sent by the one who chose you. ^9 (A) A little yeast can change a whole batch of dough, ¹⁰ but you belong to the Lord. This makes me certain you will do what I say, instead of what someone else tells you to do. Whoever is causing trouble for you will be punished.

¹¹ My friends, if I still preach that people need to be circumcised, why am I in so much trouble? The message about the cross would no longer be a problem, if I told people to be circumcised. ¹² I wish everyone who is upsetting you would not only get circumcised, but would cut off much more!