Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 80
For the worship leader. A song of Asaph to the tune “The Lilies.”[a]
Psalm 80 is a communal lament composed in Judah (the Southern Kingdom) after the fall of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) in 722 b.c.
1 Turn Your ear toward us, Shepherd of Israel,
You who lead the children of Joseph like a flock.
You who sit enthroned above heaven’s winged creatures,[b]
radiate Your light!
2 In the presence of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,
arouse Your strength and power,
and save us!
3 Bring us back to You, God.
Turn the light of Your face upon us so that we will be rescued from this sea of darkness.
4 O Eternal God, Commander of heaven’s armies,
how long will You remain angry at the prayers of Your sons and daughters?
5 You have given them tears for food;
You have given them an abundance of tears to drink.
6 You have made us a source of trouble for our neighbors—
our enemies laugh to each other behind our backs.
7 O God, Commander of heaven’s armies, bring us back to You.
Turn the light of Your face upon us so that we will be rescued from this sea of darkness.
17 Let Your protective hand rest on the one who is at Your right hand,
the child of man whom You have raised and nurtured for Yourself.
18 Then we will not turn away from You.
Bring us back to life! And we will call out for You!
19 O Eternal God, Commander of heaven’s armies, bring us back to You.
Turn the light of Your face upon us so that we will be rescued from this sea of darkness.
2 Beware, for disaster is coming to those who plan wickedness,
who lie on their beds plotting evil.
When morning shines on them, they carry out their plans
simply because they have the power to do so.
2 They see fields they want and take them.
They see houses, and they grab them up.
They persecute each landowner, taking all that belongs to him—
including his freedom and his children’s inheritance.
3 Eternal One: Look at what I am doing:
I am preparing a calamity for you people,
A yoke from which you will not be able to free your necks.
You will not be able to walk with your noses in the air
Because the times will be disastrous indeed.
4 On that day, you will be a subject of parodies;
each of you land stealers will sing a dirge and say,
“Oh no! We’re completely ruined!
God has divided up my family’s inheritance.
And how has He taken it out of my hands?
He has given my land to the conquerors.”
5 Because of this, you will have no descendant
who can measure out your share in the Eternal’s community.
6 They say,
“Don’t rattle on like this,”
But those same people preach falsehood themselves:
“Calamity is not coming in our direction.”
7 Should it be said to the people of Jacob,
“Has the Spirit of Eternal lost His patience with us?
Is this how He works?”
Eternal One: When I speak, don’t good things happen
to the ones who uprightly follow My fair path?
8 But recently My people became their own enemy.
You strip the mantles off the clothes
Of those just passing through, those who thought themselves safe,
those who are opposed to war.
9 You drive the women of My people from the homes they love.
You steal My glory from their young children.
10 Get up and go! This is no place for you to rest,
because when something is contaminated with evil,
It destroys people painfully and completely.
11 If someone going on about nothing of worth wanders by and says,
“I’ve come to preach to you of whiskey and wine,”
Then these selfish people would hire him
as their official speaker just because they like his message.
12 I will certainly gather you all together, people of Jacob;
I will surely bring you together with the survivors of Israel’s decimation.
I will gather them like sheep in a fold,
and like a flock trapped in the center of their pasture,
They will make a great noise, there will be so many of them.
13 Their leader breaks out first,
then all break through the gate and escape.
Their king will show the way, and the Eternal One will lead them.
15 You will remember that the prophet Daniel predicted this—predicted the abomination that causes desolation[a]—when you see the prophesied desolation of the holy place. (Reader, take notice; it is important that you understand this.) 16 When you see this, let those in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 If you are relaxing on your rooftop one evening and the signs of the temple’s destructions come, don’t return to your house to rescue a book or a pet or a scrap of clothing. 18 If you are in the field when the great destruction begins, don’t return home for a cloak. 19 Pregnant women and nursing mothers will have the worst of it. 20 And as for you, pray that your flight to the hills will not come on the Sabbath or in the cold of winter. 21 For the tribulation will be unparalleled—hardships of a magnitude that has not been seen since creation and that will not be seen again. 22 Indeed the Lord God your merciful judge will cut this time of trial short, and this will be done for the benefit of the elect that some might indeed be saved—for no one could survive the depravity for very long.
23 I cannot say this clearly enough: during this time, someone will say to you, “Look, here is the Anointed One!” or “Aren’t you relieved? Haven’t you seen the Savior down there, around the bend, over the hill and dale?” Do not believe them. 24 False liberators and false prophets will appear, and they will know a few tricks—they will perform great miracles, and they will make great promises. If it were possible, they would even deceive God’s elect. 25 But I am warning you ahead of time: remember—do not fall for their lies or lines or promises. 26 If someone says, “He’s out there in the desert”—do not go. And if someone says, “He’s here at our house, at our table”—do not believe him. 27 When the Son of Man comes, He will be as visible as lightning in the East is visible even in the West. 28 And where the carcass is, there will always be vultures.
29 And as the prophets have foretold it: after the distress of those days,
The sun will grow dark,
and the moon will be hidden.
The stars will fall from the sky,
and all the powers in the heavens will be dislodged and shaken from their places.[b]
30 That is when the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. All the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming; they will see Him powerful and glorious, riding on chariots of clouds in the sky. 31 With a loud trumpet call, He will send out battalions of heavenly messengers; and they will gather His beloved faithful elect from the four corners of creation, from one end of heaven to the other.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.