Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
To the Director: A Psalm by the descendants of Korah.
Restore Us, God
85 Lord you have favored your land
and restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You took away the iniquity of your people,
forgiving all their sins.
3 You withdrew all your wrath
and turned away from your burning anger.
4 Restore us, God of our salvation,
and stop being angry with us.
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger from generation to generation?
6 Will you restore our lives again
so that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Lord, show your gracious love
and deliver us.
8 Let me listen to what God, the Lord, says;
for the Lord will promise peace
to his people, to his holy ones;
may they not return to foolishness.
9 Surely, he will soon deliver those who fear him,
for his glory will live in our land.
10 Gracious love and truth meet;
righteousness and peace kiss.
11 Truth sprouts up from the ground,
while righteousness looks down from the sky.
12 The Lord will also provide what is good,
and our land will yield its produce.
13 Righteousness will go before him
to prepare a path for his steps.
Judgment against Israel
5 “Hear this, priests,
pay attention, house of Israel,
listen, royal family!
For judgment is coming your way,[a]
because you have been a trap to Mizpah,
a snare spread out on Mount[b] Tabor.
2 The rebels are deep into their slaughter;
I am punishing them all.
3 I know Ephraim,
and Israel cannot hide from me,
since you, Ephraim, have been acting like a prostitute,
defiling Israel.
4 “Their actions hinder them from turning to their God,
because a spirit of fornication is in their midst,
and the Lord they do not know.
5 The arrogance of Israel testifies against him;
therefore Israel and Ephraim will stumble in their iniquity,
and Judah with them.
6 They will go with their flocks and herds
to seek the Lord,
but they will not find him;
he has withdrawn from them.
7 They have been unfaithful to the Lord,
having raised unbelieving children.
In the coming month they will be devoured,
along with their fields.[c]
8 “Sound the trumpet in Gibeah,
and the alarm in Ramah.
Cry out at Beth-aven
Go out,[d] Benjamin!
9 Ephraim will be desolate
when it is rebuked.
I have made known among the tribes of Israel
what will surely come about.
10 The princes of Judah have become
like those who move boundary markers:
I will pour out my anger on them like water.
11 Ephraim is crushed,
broken by judgment,
because he[e] willingly pursued idols.[f]
12 Therefore I will consume[g] Ephraim like a moth,
and the house of Judah as rottenness consumes.
13 When Ephraim examined his illness
and Judah his injury,
then Ephraim went to Assyria,
and inquired of the great king;
but he could not cure you
nor heal your injury.
14 Therefore I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
and like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I—even I—will tear them[h] to pieces,
and then I will leave.
I will take them[i] away,
and there will be no rescue.
15 “I will leave and go back to my place
until they admit their offense
and seek my face.
When affliction comes to them,
they will eagerly seek me.”
22 “Fellow Israelis, listen to these words: Jesus from Nazareth[a] was a man authenticated to you by God through miracles, wonders, and signs that God performed through him among you, as you yourselves know. 23 After he was arrested according to the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified this very man and killed him using the hands of lawless men. 24 But God raised him up, putting an end to the suffering of death,[b] since it was impossible for him to be held by it, 25 since David says about him,
‘I always keep my eyes on the Lord,[c]
for he is at my right hand
so that I cannot be shaken.
26 That is why my heart is glad
and my tongue rejoices,
yes, even my body still rests securely in hope.
27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades[d]
or allow your Holy One to experience decay.
28 You have made the ways of life known to me,
and you will fill me with gladness in your presence.’[e]
29 “Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and that his tomb is among us to this day. 30 Therefore, since he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him with an oath to put one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he looked ahead and spoke about the resurrection of the Messiah:[f]
32 “It was this very Jesus whom God raised—and we’re all witnesses of that. 33 He has been exalted to the right hand of God, has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit,[i] and has caused you to experience what you are seeing and hearing. 34 After all, David did not go up to heaven, but he said,
36 “Therefore, let all the people[l] of Israel understand beyond a doubt that God made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah!”[m]
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.