Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 50
A psalm by Asaph.
1 Yahweh, the only true El, has spoken.
He has summoned the earth
from where the sun rises to where it sets.
2 Elohim shines from Zion,
the perfection of beauty.
3 Our Elohim will come and will not remain silent.
A devouring fire is in front of him
and a raging storm around him.
4 He summons heaven and earth to judge his people:
5 “Gather around me, my godly people
who have made a pledge to me through sacrifices.”
6 The heavens announce his righteousness
because Elohim is the Shophet. Selah
7 “Listen, my people, and I will speak.
Listen, Israel, and I will testify against you:
I am Elohim, your Elohim!
8 I am not criticizing you for your sacrifices or burnt offerings,
which are always in front of me.
22 Consider this, you people who forget Eloah.
Otherwise, I will tear you to pieces,
and there will be no one left to rescue you.
23 Whoever offers thanks as a sacrifice honors me.
I will let everyone who continues in my way
see the salvation that comes from Elohim.”
18 Surely wickedness burns like fire.
It burns up briars and thorns.
It sets the underbrush in the forest on fire,
and it whirls upward in clouds of smoke.
19 The land is scorched by the fury of Yahweh Tsebaoth,
and the people are like fuel for the fire.
No one shows concern for others:
20 On the right, one gobbles up food and is still hungry.
On the left, another eats and is never full.
Each person eats the flesh from his own arm.
21 Manasseh is against Ephraim.
Ephraim is against Manasseh.
Together they attack Judah.
Even after all this, his anger will not disappear,
and he is still ready to use his power.
10 How horrible it will be for those who make unjust laws
and who make oppressive regulations.
2 They deprive the poor of justice.
They take away the rights of the needy among my people.
They prey on widows and rob orphans.
3 What will you do on the day
you are called to account for these things,
when the disaster comes from far away?
Where will you run for help?
Where will you leave your wealth?
4 Nothing’s left but to crouch among prisoners
and to fall with those who are killed.
Even after all this, his anger will not disappear,
and he is still ready to use his power.
Stephen Speaks in His Own Defense
7 Then the chief priest asked Stephen, “Is this true?”
2 Stephen answered, “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God who reveals his glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia. This happened before Abraham lived in Haran. 3 God told him, ‘Leave your land and your relatives. Go to the land that I will show you.’
4 “Then Abraham left the country of Chaldea and lived in the city of Haran. After his father died, God made him move from there to this land where we now live.
5 “Yet, God didn’t give Abraham anything in this land to call his own, not even a place to rest his feet. But God promised to give this land to him and to his descendants, even though Abraham didn’t have a child. 6 God told Abraham that his descendants would be foreigners living in another country and that the people there would make them slaves and mistreat them for 400 years. 7 God also told him, ‘I will punish the people whom they will serve. After that, they will leave that country and worship me here.’
8 “God gave Abraham circumcision to confirm his promise.[a] So when Abraham’s son Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him on the eighth day. Isaac did the same to his son Jacob, and Jacob did the same to his twelve sons (the ancestors of our tribes).
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.