Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Urgent Prayer for the Restored Favor of God(A)
To the Chief Musician. (B)Set to [a]“Lily of the Testimony.” A Michtam of David. For teaching. (C)When he fought against Mesopotamia and Syria of Zobah, and Joab returned and killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
60 O God, (D)You have cast us off;
You have broken us down;
You have been displeased;
Oh, restore us again!
2 You have made the earth tremble;
You have broken it;
(E)Heal its breaches, for it is shaking.
3 (F)You have shown Your people hard things;
(G)You have made us drink the wine of [b]confusion.
4 (H)You have given a banner to those who fear You,
That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah
5 (I)That Your beloved may be delivered,
Save with Your right hand, and hear me.
6 God has (J)spoken in His holiness:
“I will rejoice;
I will (K)divide (L)Shechem
And measure out (M)the Valley of Succoth.
7 Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;
(N)Ephraim also is the [c]helmet for My head;
(O)Judah is My lawgiver.
8 (P)Moab is My washpot;
(Q)Over Edom I will cast My shoe;
(R)Philistia, shout in triumph because of Me.”
9 Who will bring me to the strong city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Is it not You, O God, (S)who cast us off?
And You, O God, who did (T)not go out with our armies?
11 Give us help from trouble,
(U)For the help of man is useless.
12 Through God (V)we will do valiantly,
For it is He who shall tread down our enemies.
Relentless Judgment on Israel
13 When Ephraim spoke, trembling,
He exalted himself in Israel;
But when he offended through Baal worship, he died.
2 Now they sin more and more,
And have made for themselves molded images,
Idols of their silver, according to their skill;
All of it is the work of craftsmen.
They say of them,
“Let [a]the men who sacrifice [b]kiss the calves!”
3 Therefore they shall be like the morning cloud
And like the early dew that passes away,
(A)Like chaff blown off from a threshing floor
And like smoke from a chimney.
4 “Yet (B)I am the Lord your God
Ever since the land of Egypt,
And you shall know no God but Me;
For (C)there is no savior besides Me.
5 (D)I [c]knew you in the wilderness,
(E)In the land of [d]great drought.
6 (F)When they had pasture, they were filled;
They were filled and their heart was exalted;
Therefore they forgot Me.
7 “So (G)I will be to them like a lion;
Like (H)a leopard by the road I will lurk;
8 I will meet them (I)like a bear deprived of her cubs;
I will tear open their rib cage,
And there I will devour them like a lion.
The [e]wild beast shall tear them.
9 “O Israel, [f]you are destroyed,
But [g]your help is from Me.
10 [h]I will be your King;
(J)Where is any other,
That he may save you in all your cities?
And your judges to whom (K)you said,
‘Give me a king and princes’?
11 (L)I gave you a king in My anger,
And took him away in My wrath.
12 “The(M) iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;
His sin is stored up.
13 (N)The sorrows of a woman in childbirth shall come upon him.
He is an unwise son,
For he should not stay long where children are born.
14 “I will ransom them from the [i]power of [j]the grave;
I will redeem them from death.
(O)O Death, [k]I will be your plagues!
O [l]Grave, [m]I will be your destruction!
(P)Pity is hidden from My eyes.”
15 Though he is fruitful among his brethren,
(Q)An east wind shall come;
The wind of the Lord shall come up from the wilderness.
Then his spring shall become dry,
And his fountain shall be dried up.
He shall plunder the treasury of every desirable prize.
16 Samaria [n]is held guilty,
For she has (R)rebelled against her God.
They shall fall by the sword,
Their infants shall be dashed in pieces,
And their women with child (S)ripped open.
Christian Graces
2 (A)Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it (B)with thanksgiving; 3 (C)meanwhile praying also for us, that God would (D)open to us a door for the word, to speak (E)the [a]mystery of Christ, (F)for which I am also in chains, 4 that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
5 (G)Walk in (H)wisdom toward those who are outside, (I)redeeming the time. 6 Let your speech always be (J)with grace, (K)seasoned with salt, (L)that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.