Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 55
My Friend Betrays Me
Heading
For the choir director. With stringed instruments. A maskil by David.
Opening Plea
1 Turn your ear to my prayer, O God.
Do not hide from my plea for mercy.
2 Pay attention to me and answer me.
The Problem
I am troubled in my thoughts and I groan
3 because of talk from the enemy,
because of oppression from the wicked,
because they dump evil on me,
and in anger they hold a grudge against me.
4 My heart is in anguish within me.
The terrors of death fall on me.
5 Fear and trembling come over me.
Horror covers me.
6 So I say, “I wish I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and find a place to rest.
7 Yes, I would flee far away. Interlude
I would stay in the wilderness.
8 I would hurry to find shelter,
far from the violent wind, far from the storm.”
9 Swallow them up, O Lord.
Confuse their speech,
for I see violence and contention in the city.
10 Day and night they sneak around on its walls.
Evil and trouble are in the city.
11 Destruction lurks within it.
Treachery and deceit never leave its streets.
12 For it is not an enemy who insults me—
I could bear that.
It is not someone who hated me who rises up against me—
I could hide from him.
13 But it is you, a man who served with me,
my colleague and my associate,
14 with whom I shared pleasant discussions
as we walked with the excited crowd at God’s house.
Plea for Judgment
15 Let deadly destruction come on them.
Let them go down to the grave alive,
because evil is at home in their hearts.
Round One: Zophar’s Speech
11 Then Zophar the Na’amathite spoke up and responded:
2 Doesn’t this gush of words call for an answer?
Can this man’s bold talk be justified?
3 Should your empty words reduce men to silence?
Can you be allowed to scoff without anyone putting you in your place?
4 You say, “What I teach is untainted,
and I am pure in your eyes.”
5 Oh how I wish that God would speak up,
open his lips against you,
6 and show you the secret of wisdom,
because sound judgment must look at both sides.
Then you would know that God has even forgotten some of your guilt!
7 Can you explore the essence of God?
Can you find a limit to the perfections of the Almighty?
8 They are as high as the heavens. What can you do?
They are deeper than hell.[a] What can you know?
9 His dimensions are greater than the earth
and wider than the sea.
10 If God comes and arrests someone and puts him on trial,
who can overrule him?
11 Certainly he recognizes deceitful men for what they are.
He sees evil, and he recognizes it for what it is.
12 Before an empty-headed man gets understanding,
a wild donkey colt will be born as a man.
13 But you, if you make your heart steadfast,
and you spread out your hands to him,
14 if you put away the sin you are holding in your hand,
and you do not allow injustice to dwell in your tents,
15 then you will lift up your face and be blameless.
You will be solid and fearless.
16 You will certainly forget your trouble.
Your memory of it will be like water that has flowed away.
17 The rest of your life will be brighter than noon.
Darkness will become like morning.
18 You will be confident that there is hope.
When you look around, you will go to bed confidently.
19 You will lie down, and no one will make you tremble.
Many will seek your favor.
20 The eyes of the wicked will fail,
and their place of refuge will disappear.
Their hope will vanish with their dying breath.[b]
10 Next I command the married (it is the Lord’s command not mine): A wife is not to leave her husband 11 (but if she does leave, she is to remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband), and a husband is not to divorce[a] his wife.
12 But I, not the Lord, say to the rest: If any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she is willing to go on living with him, he is not to divorce her. 13 If any woman has an unbelieving husband, and he is willing to go on living with her, she is not to divorce her husband. 14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified in connection with his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified in connection with her husband.[b] Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let him leave. The brother or the sister is not bound in such cases, and God has called us[c] to live in peace. 16 For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.