Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
To the director: To the tune “Lily of the Agreement.” A miktam of David for teaching. Written when David fought Aram Naharaim and Aram Zobah, and Joab came back and defeated 12,000 Edomite soldiers at Salt Valley.
60 God, you were angry with us.
You rejected us and destroyed our defenses.
Please make us strong again.
2 You shook the earth and split it open.
It is falling apart like a broken wall.
Please put it back together.
3 You have given your people many troubles.
We are dizzy and fall down like drunks.
4 But you have provided a flag to show your faithful followers
where to gather to escape the enemy’s attack. Selah
5 Use your great power and give us victory!
Answer our prayer and save the people you love.
6 God has spoken in his Temple[a]:
“I will win the war and rejoice in victory!
I will divide this land among my people.
I will give them Shechem.
I will give them Succoth Valley.
7 Gilead and Manasseh will be mine.
Ephraim will be my helmet.
Judah will be my royal scepter.
8 Moab will be the bowl for washing my feet.
Edom will be the slave who carries my sandals.
I will defeat the Philistines and shout in victory!”
9-10 But, God, it seems that you have left us!
You do not go out with our army.
So who will lead me into the strong, protected city?
Who will lead me into battle against Edom?
11 Help us defeat the enemy!
No one on earth can rescue us.
12 Only God can make us strong.
Only God can defeat our enemies!
Israel Has Ruined Itself
13 “The tribe of Ephraim made itself very important in Israel. Ephraim spoke and people shook with fear. But Ephraim sinned by worshiping Baal, so he must die. 2 Now the Israelites sin more and more. They make idols for themselves. Workers make those fancy statues from silver, and then they talk to their statues. They offer sacrifices to them, and they kiss those calf idols. 3 That is why those people will soon disappear. They will be like a fog that comes early in the morning and then quickly disappears. The Israelites will be like chaff that is blown from the threshing floor. The Israelites will be like smoke that goes out a window and disappears.
4 “I have been the Lord your God since the time you were in the land of Egypt. You did not know any other god except me. I am the one who saved you. 5 I knew you in the desert—I knew you in that dry land. 6 I gave food to the Israelites, and they ate it. They became full and satisfied. They became proud, and then they forgot me.
7 “That is why I will be like a lion to them. I will be like a leopard waiting by the road. 8 I will attack them like a bear whose cubs were robbed from her. I will attack them and rip open their chests. I will be like a lion or other wild animal tearing and eating its prey.
Israel Cannot Be Saved From God’s Anger
9 “Israel, I helped you, but you turned against me. So now I will destroy you. 10 Where is your king? Can he save you in any of your cities? Where are your judges? You asked for them, saying, ‘Give me a king and leaders.’[a] 11 I was angry, and I gave you a king. And when I became very angry, I took him away.
12 “Ephraim tried to hide his guilt.
He thought his sins were a secret,
but he will be punished.
13 His punishment will be like the pain of a woman giving birth.
He will not be a wise son.
The time will come for his birth,
and he will not survive.
14 “I will save them from the grave.
I will rescue them from death.
Death, where are your diseases?
Grave, where is your power?
I am not looking for revenge.
15 Israel grows among his brothers,
but a powerful east wind will come—the Lord’s wind will blow from the desert.
Then his well will dry up.
His spring of water will be dry.
The wind will take away anything of value.
16 Samaria must be punished
because she turned against her God.
The Israelites will be killed with swords.
Their children will be torn to pieces,
and their pregnant women will be ripped open.”
Some Things to Do
2 Never stop praying. Be ready for anything by praying and being thankful. 3 Also pray for us. Pray that God will give us an opportunity to tell people his message. I am in prison for doing this. But pray that we can continue to tell people the secret truth that God has made known about Christ. 4 Pray that I will say what is necessary to make this truth clear to everyone.
5 Be wise in the way you act with those who are not believers. Use your time in the best way you can. 6 When you talk, you should always be kind and wise. Then you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International