Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 44
For the choir director; a maskil by Korah’s descendants.
1 O Elohim,
we have heard it with our own ears.
Our ancestors have told us
about the miracle you performed in their day,
in days long ago.
2 By your power you forced nations out of the land,
but you planted our ancestors there.
You shattered many groups of people,
but you set our ancestors free.[a]
3 It was not with their swords that they took possession of the land.
They did not gain victory with their own strength.
It was your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your presence that did it,
because you were pleased with them.
4 You alone are my Melek, O Elohim.
You won those victories for Jacob.
5 With you we can walk over our enemies.
With your name we can trample those who attack us.
6 I do not rely on my bow,
and my sword will never save me.
7 But you saved us from our enemies.
You put to shame those who hate us.
8 All day long we praise our Elohim.
We give thanks to you forever. Selah
9 But now you have rejected and disgraced us.
You do not even go along with our armies.
10 You make us retreat from the enemy.
Those who hate us rob us at will.
11 You hand us over to be butchered like sheep
and scatter us among the nations.
12 You sell your people for almost nothing,
and at that price you have gained nothing.
13 You made us a disgrace to our neighbors
and an object of ridicule and contempt to those around us.
14 You made our defeat a proverb among the nations
so that people shake their heads at us.
15 All day long my disgrace is in front of me.
Shame covers my face
16 because of the words of those who insult and slander us,
because of the presence of the enemy and the avenger.
17 Although all of this happened to us,
we never forgot you.
We never ignored your promise.[b]
18 Our hearts never turned away.
Our feet never left your path.
19 Yet, you crushed us in a place for jackals
and covered us with the shadow of death.
20 If we forgot the name of our Elohim
or stretched out our hands to pray to another god,
21 wouldn’t Elohim find out,
since he knows the secrets in our hearts?
22 Indeed, we are being killed all day long because of you.
We are thought of as sheep to be slaughtered.
23 Wake up! Why are you sleeping, O Adonay?
Awake! Do not reject us forever!
24 Why do you hide your face?
Why do you forget our suffering and misery?
25 Our souls are bowing in the dust.
Our bodies cling to the ground.
26 Arise! Help us!
Rescue us because of your mercy!
Israel Rejected the Lord’s Promise
6 Let’s return to Yahweh.
Even though he has torn us to pieces,
he will heal us.
Even though he has wounded us,
he will bandage our wounds.
2 After two days he will revive us.
On the third day he will raise us
so that we may live in his presence.
3 Let’s learn about Yahweh.
Let’s get to know Yahweh.
He will come to us as sure as the morning comes.
He will come to us like the autumn rains and the spring rains
that water the ground.
4 “What should I do with you, Ephraim?
What should I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like fog in the morning.
It disappears as quickly as the morning dew.
5 That is why I cut you down by sending the prophets.
I killed you with the words from my mouth.
My judgments shined on you like light.
6 I want your loyalty, not your sacrifices.
I want you to know me, not to give me burnt offerings.
7 “Like Adam, you rejected the promise.[a]
You were unfaithful to me.
8 Gilead is a city filled with troublemakers.
It is stained with bloody footprints.
9 The priests are like gangs of robbers who lie in ambush for a person.
They murder on the road to Shechem.
Certainly, they have committed a crime.
10 “I have seen horrible things in the nation of Israel.
Ephraim is acting like a prostitute,
and Israel is unclean.[b]
30 So what can we say? We can say that non-Jewish people who were not trying to gain God’s approval won his approval, an approval based on faith. 31 The people of Israel tried to gain God’s approval by obeying the laws in Moses’ Teachings, but they did not reach their goal. 32 Why? They didn’t rely on faith to gain God’s approval, but they relied on their own efforts. They stumbled over the rock that trips people. 33 As Scripture says,
“I am placing a rock in Zion that people trip over,
a large rock that people find offensive.
Whoever believes in him will not be ashamed.”
If You Believe You Will Be Saved
10 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God on behalf of the Jewish people is that they would be saved. 2 I can assure you that they are deeply devoted to God, but they are misguided. 3 They don’t understand how to receive God’s approval. So they try to set up their own way to get it, and they have not accepted God’s way for receiving his approval. 4 Christ is the fulfillment of Moses’ Teachings so that everyone who has faith may receive God’s approval.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.