Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Treacherous Tongue!
Psalm 52
1 For the music director: a contemplative song of David, 2 when Doeg the Edomite came and reported to Saul telling him, “David went to Ahimelech’s house.”
3 Why do you brag about evil, mighty man?
God’s lovingkindness is every day.
4 Your tongue plots destruction,
like a sharp razor, working deceit.
5 You love evil instead of good,
lying rather than speaking right. Selah
6 You love only devouring words—
treacherous tongue!
7 God will pull you down forever,
and snatch you, rip you out of your tent,
and uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
8 Then the righteous will see and fear,
and laugh at him:
9 “Here is the man who did not make God his stronghold.
Instead he trusted in his great riches—
and was strong in his evil desire.”
10 But I—I am like an olive tree flourishing in the House of God.
I trust in God’s lovingkindness forever and ever.
11 I will praise You forever for what You have done.
I will hope in Your Name, for it is good,
in the presence of Your kedoshim.
Dreadful Day of Adonai
18 Oy to you—longing for the Day of Adonai![a]
What would it be for you?
The Day of Adonai will be darkness and not light.[b]
19 It will be as when a man is fleeing from a lion—
and meets a bear!
Or he comes home,
leans his hand on the wall,
and a snake bites him!
20 Will not the Day of Adonai be darkness, not light?
Gloom, not brightness?
Justice Better Than Sacrifices
21 “I hate, I despise your festivals!
I take no delight in your sacred assemblies.
22 Even if you offer me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,
I will not accept them,
nor will I look
at peace offerings of your fattened animals.
23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
24 But let justice roll like water
and righteousness like an ever-flowing torrent.
25 Did you bring sacrifices and offerings to Me in the wilderness
for forty years, O house of Israel?
26 But you lifted up your images
—Siccuth your ‘king’, and Chiun,[c] your star gods—
which you made for yourselves,[d]
27 So I will send you into exile,
beyond Damascus.”
Adonai has spoken,
Elohei-Tzva’ot is His Name.
Prayer for Power and Understanding
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father[a]— 15 from Him every family in heaven and on earth receives its name. 16 I pray that from His glorious riches He would grant you to be strengthened in your inner being with power through His Ruach, 17 so that Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to grasp with all the kedoshim what is the width and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Messiah which surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled up with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to Him who is able to do far beyond all that we ask or imagine, by means of His power that works in us, 21 to Him be the glory in the community of believers and in Messiah Yeshua throughout all generations[b] forever and ever! Amen.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.