Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 52
For the choir director; a maskil; a psalm by David when Doeg (who was from Edom) told Saul that David had come to Ahimelech’s home.
1 Why do you brag about the evil you’ve done, you hero?
The mercy of El lasts all day long!
2 Your tongue makes up threats.
It’s like a sharp razor, you master of deceit.
3 You prefer evil to good.
You prefer lying to speaking the truth. Selah
4 You love every destructive accusation, you deceitful tongue!
5 But El will ruin you forever.
He will grab you and drag you out of your tent.
He will pull your roots out of this world of the living. Selah
6 Righteous people will see this and be struck with fear.
They will laugh at you and say,
7 “Look at this person who refused to make Elohim his fortress!
Instead, he trusted his great wealth
and became strong through his greed.”
8 But I am like a large olive tree in Elohim’s house.
I trust the mercy of Elohim forever and ever.
9 I will give thanks to you forever
for what you have done.
In the presence of your godly people,
I will wait with hope in your good name.
The Fall of Samaria
6 How horrible it will be for those who are at ease in Zion,
for those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria,
and for the heads of the leading nations,
to whom the nation of Israel comes.
2 Go to Calneh and look.
Go from there to the great city of Hamath.
Then go to Gath, the city of the Philistines.
Are you better than these kingdoms?
Is their territory larger than yours?
3 How horrible it will be for those who think that a day of disaster is far away.
They bring the reign of violence closer.
4 How horrible it will be for those who sleep on ivory beds.
They sprawl out on their couches
and eat lambs from their flocks and calves from their stalls.
5 How horrible it will be for those who make up songs as they strum a harp.
Like David, they write all kinds of songs for themselves.
6 How horrible it will be for those who drink wine by the jugful.
They rub the finest oils all over themselves
and are not sorry for the ruin of the descendants of Joseph.
7 That is why they will now be the first to go into exile.
The celebrating of those sprawled around the banquet table will stop.
8 Adonay Yahweh has sworn an oath on himself.
Yahweh Elohe Tsebaoth declares:
I am disgusted with Jacob’s pride,
and I hate his palaces.
So I will hand over the city and everything in it.
9 If ten people are left in one house, they will die.
10 If a relative or a mortician
comes to take the dead bodies out of the house
and asks someone who is inside the house,
“Is there anyone else with you?”
that person will answer, “No.”
“Hush,” he will add.
“We shouldn’t mention the name of Yahweh!”
11 Yahweh is going to give the command
to level big houses and flatten little houses.
12 Do horses run on rocks?
Does a farmer plow the sea with oxen?
Yet, you have turned justice into something deadly
and what is righteous into poison.
13 How horrible it will be for those who rejoice over Lo Debar
and who say, “We were strong enough to capture Karnaim by ourselves.”
14 I am going to lead a nation to attack you, nation of Israel,
declares the Lord God of the Armies of the Nations.
They will oppress you from the border of Hamath to the valley of Arabah.
A Story about a Farmer(A)
4 When a large crowd had gathered and people had come to Yeshua from every city, he used this story as an illustration: 5 “A farmer went to plant his seeds. Some seeds were planted along the road, were trampled, and were devoured by birds. 6 Others were planted on rocky soil. When the plants came up, they withered because they had no moisture. 7 Others were planted among thornbushes. The thornbushes grew up with them and choked them. 8 Others were planted on good ground. When they came up, they produced a hundred times as much as was planted.”
After he had said this, he called out, “Let the person who has ears listen!”
9 His disciples asked him what this story meant. 10 Yeshua answered, “Knowledge about the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been given directly to you. But it is given to others in stories. When they look, they don’t see, and when they hear, they don’t understand.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.