Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
To the Director: A special Davidic psalm to the tune of[a] “Lily of The Covenant,” for teaching about his battle with Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, when Joab returned and attacked 12,000 Edomites in the Salt Valley.[b]
A Prayer for God’s Help against Adversaries
60 God, you have cast us off;
you have breached our defenses
and you have become enraged.
Return to us!
2 You made the earth quake;
you broke it open.
Repair its fractures,
because it has shifted.
3 You made your people go through hard times;
you had us drink wine that makes us stagger.
4 But you have given a banner to those who fear you,
so they may display it in honor of truth.[c]
5 So your loved ones may be delivered,
save us by your power[d]
and answer us quickly!
6 Then God spoke in his holiness,
“I will rejoice—
I will divide Shechem;
I will portion out the Succoth Valley.
7 Gilead belongs to me,
and Manasseh is mine.
Ephraim is my helmet,
and Judah my scepter.
8 Moab is my wash basin;
over Edom I will throw my shoes;
over Philistia I will celebrate my triumph.”
9 Who will lead me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Aren’t you the one, God, who has cast us off?
Didn’t you refuse, God, to accompany our armies?
12 [a]“Ephraim surrounds me with lies,
and the house of Israel surrounds me[b] with deceit,
But Judah still rules with God,
and remains faithful, along with the godly ones.”
Israel’s Sin
12 [c]“Ephraim feeds on the wind,
chasing after the eastern winds,
storing up lies and desolation day after day.
They are making a contract with the Assyrians,
and sending oil to Egypt.
2 The Lord accuses Judah,
and will punish Jacob according to his ways;
he will repay him for what he does.
3 He circumvented his brother[d] in the womb,
and as an adult he fought with God.
4 He even fought the angel and won;
he cried and prayed to him.
Then at Bethel he found him,
and there he spoke with us—
5 the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies—
the Lord is his name.[e]
6 So you, return to your God;
guard grace and justice,
and look to your God always.
7 “Now as for the merchant,[f]
deceitful balances remain in his hand,
and he loves to defraud.
8 Ephraim claims,
‘I have become rich,
I have made a fortune!
Because of all my wealth,
no one will find any iniquity or sin in me.’
9 “Yet I remain the Lord your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
I will make you live in tents again,
as in the festival of that name.[g]
10 I spoke to the prophets,
giving revelation after revelation,
and employing parables in the prophetic writings.[h]
11 “There’s iniquity in Gilead, isn’t there?
They have become truly vain.
They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal;
their altars are like piles of stone in furrowed fields.
12 Jacob fled into the land of Aram;[i]
Israel served there to obtain his wife,
tending sheep to gain[j] his wife.
13 “By a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt,
and by a prophet he[k] was rescued.
14 Ephraim has stirred up violent anger;
therefore the guilt of his blood will remain on him,
and his Lord will repay him for his contempt.”
Family Duties
18 Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is appropriate for those who belong to the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with[a] them.
20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not make your children resentful. Otherwise, they’ll become discouraged.
22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only while being watched in order to please them, but with a sincere heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work at it wholeheartedly as though you were doing it[b] for the Lord and not merely for people. 24 You know that it is from the Lord that you will receive the inheritance as a reward. It is the Lord Messiah[c] whom you are serving! 25 For the person who does what is wrong will be paid back for what he has done without favoritism.
4 Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
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