Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God Will Punish the Proud
For the director of music. A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] of David. When Doeg the Edomite came to Saul and ·said [reported] to him, “David ·is in [L has come to/entered] Ahimelech’s house [1 Sam. 21:7; 22:7–23].”
52 Mighty warrior, why do you ·brag [boast] about the evil you do?
God’s ·love [loyalty] will continue ·forever [L everyday; all day].
2 You think up ·evil plans [L destruction].
Your tongue is like a sharp razor [Prov. 18:21],
making up ·lies [deception].
3 You love ·wrong [evil] more than ·right [good]
and ·lies [falsehood] more than speaking the truth. ·
4 You love words that ·bite [destroy; L swallow up]
and ·tongues that lie [deceptive tongues; James 3:1–12].
5 But God will ·ruin you [L break you down] forever.
He will grab you and ·throw [tear] you out of your tent;
he will ·tear you away [uproot you] from the land of the living. ·
6 Those who ·do right [are righteous] will see this and ·fear God [L fear; Prov. 1:7].
They will laugh at you and say,
7 “·Look what happened to [T Behold] the man
who did not ·depend on God [L make God his refuge]
but ·depended on [trusted/put his confidence in] ·his money [L the abundance of his wealth].
He grew strong by his ·evil [destructive] plans.”
8 But I am like ·an olive tree
growing [L a green olive tree] in God’s ·Temple [L house; 1:3; 92:12–13; Jer. 11:16].
I ·trust [have confidence in] God’s ·love [loyalty]
forever and ever.
9 God, I will ·thank [praise] you forever for what you have done.
With ·those who worship you [his loyal ones/saints], I will ·trust [put my confidence in] you because you are good.
Israel Will Be Destroyed
6 ·How terrible it will be for [L Woe to] those who ·have an easy life [are complacent/at ease] in Jerusalem,
for those who feel ·safe living [secure] on Mount Samaria.
You think you are ·the important people [notable/renowned men] of the ·best nation in the world [first among the nations];
the ·Israelites [L house of Israel] come to you for help.
2 Go look at the city of Calneh,
and from there go to the great city Hamath [C Aramean city-states under the control of Israel];
then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
·You are no better than these kingdoms [L Are they better than your kingdoms?].
·Your land is no larger than theirs [L Is their territory greater than yours?].
3 You put off the ·day of punishment [day of disaster/doom; L evil day],
but you ·bring near [establish] ·the day when you can do evil to others [a reign of terror; L the seat of violence].
4 You lie on beds ·decorated with ivory [L of ivory]
and stretch out on your couches.
You eat ·tender lambs [L lambs from the flock]
and ·fattened calves [L calves from the midst of the stall].
5 You ·make up songs [or strum away; or sing idly] on your ·harps [stringed instruments],
and, like David, you ·compose [or improvise] songs on musical instruments.
6 You drink wine by the bowlful
and ·use [anoint yourselves with] the ·best perfumed lotions [finest oils].
But you ·are not sad [do not grieve; are unconcerned] over the ruin of Israel,
7 so you will be some of the first ones ·taken as slaves [to go into exile].
Your ·feasting and lying around [reclining at banquets] will come to an end.
8 The Lord God ·made this promise [L has sworn by himself]; the Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says:
“I ·hate [abhor] the pride of ·the Israelites [L Jacob],
and I ·hate [detest] their ·strong buildings [fortresses; palaces],
so I will ·let the enemy take [deliver up] the city
and everything in it.”
9 ·At that time there might be only [L If there are] ten people left alive in just one house, but they will also die. 10 When the relatives come to take the bodies out of the house to ·bury them [or burn them; or anoint them for burial], one of them will call to ·the other [or any survivors] and ask, “Are there any other dead bodies with you?”
That person will answer, “No.”
Then the one who asked will say, “Hush! We must not say the name of the Lord.” [C This could mean do not say the Lord’s name lest he return with more judgment, or do not pronounce a eulogy using the Lord’s name on those already judged by God, or do not acknowledge the Lord because of resentment of his judgment.]
11 The Lord has given the command;
the large house will be ·broken [smashed] into pieces,
and the small house into bits.
12 ·Horses do not [L Can horses…?] run on rocks,
and ·people do not [L can people…?] plow ·rocks [or the sea] with oxen.
But you have changed ·fairness [justice] into poison;
you have changed ·what is right [L the fruit of righteousness] into ·a bitter taste [L wormwood; 5:7].
13 You ·are happy that the town of Lo Debar was captured [L rejoiced over Lo Debar; C a town across the Jordan whose name means “nothing,” mocking Israel’s conquest of it as insignificant],
and you say, “We have taken Karnaim [C another insignificant town across the Jordan conquered by the Israelites] by our own strength.”
14 The Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says,
“·Israel [L House of Israel], I will bring a nation against you
that will ·make your people suffer [oppress you] from Lebo Hamath [C in the far north]
to the valley ·south of the Dead Sea [L of the Arabah; C in the far south; 2 Kin. 14:25; Israel had oppressed others, but would now be oppressed].”
A Story About Planting Seed(A)
4 When a great crowd was gathered, and people were coming to Jesus from every town, he told them this ·story [parable]:
5 “A ·farmer [sower] went out to ·plant [sow] his seed. While he was ·planting [sowing, scattering seed], some seed fell ·by the road [along the footpath]. People ·walked [trampled] on the seed, and the ·birds [L birds of the sky] ate it up. 6 Some seed fell on rock, and when it began to grow, it ·died [withered; dried up] because it had no ·water [moisture]. 7 Some seed fell among thorny weeds, but the weeds grew up with it and choked ·the good plants [L it]. 8 And ·some [L other] seed fell on good ·ground [soil] and grew and made a hundred times more.”
As Jesus finished the story, he called out, “·Let those with ears use them and listen [L The one who has ears to hear, let him hear]!”
9 Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] asked him what this ·story [parable] meant.
10 Jesus said, “·You have been chosen [L It has been granted/given to you] to ·know [understand] the ·secrets [mysteries] about the kingdom of God. But I use ·stories [parables] to speak to ·other people [the rest] so that:
‘They will ·look [see], but they may not ·see [perceive].
They will ·listen [hear], but they may not understand [Is. 6:9].’
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