Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 99
The Holy One Rules in Israel
Admonition to the Nations
1 The Lord reigns. Let the peoples tremble.
He is seated above the cherubim. Let the earth quake.
2 The Lord is great in Zion. He is exalted over all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your name, great and awesome.
Refrain
He is holy!
Assurance to Israel
4 The King is mighty. He loves justice.
You, Lord,[a] have established fairness.
In Jacob you carried out justice and righteousness.
5 Exalt the Lord our God and bow down before his footstool.
Refrain
He is holy!
Examples From History
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests.
Samuel was among those who call on his name.
They called on the Lord, and he answered them.
7 From within the pillar of cloud he spoke to them.
They kept his testimonies and the order that he gave them.
8 O Lord our God, you answered them.
For them you were a God who removes sin,
but you repaid them for their deeds.
Concluding Refrain
9 Exalt the Lord our God,
and bow down before his holy mountain,
because the Lord our God is holy.
11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the young boy served the Lord as an attendant to Eli the priest.
Eli’s Wicked Sons Contrasted With Samuel
12 Now the sons of Eli were wicked scoundrels. They did not know the Lord.
13 The practice of the priests with the people was that whenever anyone offered a sacrifice, while the meat was still boiling, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand. 14 He would thrust it into the basin, kettle, caldron, or cooking pot. The priest would then take for himself everything that the fork brought up. This is the way they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. 15 Before the people had even burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and tell the person who was making the sacrifice, “Give me meat for the priest to roast, because he will not accept boiled meat from you, but only raw meat.”
16 If the man said to him, “Let us burn the fat first. Then take as much as you want,” the servant would say, “No, you must give it to me right now. If you do not, I will take it by force.” 17 So the sin of the young men was very serious in the sight of the Lord, because the men were treating the Lord’s offerings with contempt.
19 Then you will say to me, “Why does God still find fault? For who has ever succeeded in resisting his will?” 20 But who are you, a mere human being, to talk back to God? Shall the thing that is formed say to the one who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?” No. 21 Doesn’t the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay one pot for special use and another for ordinary use?
22 What if God, although he wanted to demonstrate his wrath and make his power known, endured with great patience the objects of wrath—ripe for destruction?[a] 23 And what if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of mercy whom he prepared in advance for glory, 24 including us, whom he called—not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles.
God Shows Mercy to Gentiles and the Remnant of Israel
25 This is also what God says in Hosea:
Those who were not my people, I will call my people,
and she who was not loved, I will call my loved one.[b]
26 And, it will be that in the place where they were told,
“You are not my people,”
there they will be called “sons of the living God.”[c]
27 And Isaiah cries out about Israel:
Although the number of the sons of Israel is as great as the sand
of the sea,
only the remnant will be saved.
28 For the Lord, who carries out what he says without delay,[d]
will do what he said completely and decisively on the earth.[e]
29 Just as Isaiah said earlier:
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.