Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God the Judge of the Righteous and the Wicked.
A Psalm of [a]Asaph.
50 (A)The Mighty One, God, the Lord, has spoken,
And summoned the earth (B)from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, (C)the perfection of beauty,
God (D)has shone forth.
3 May our God (E)come and not keep silence;
(F)Fire devours before Him,
And it is very (G)tempestuous around Him.
4 He (H)summons the heavens above,
And the earth, to judge His people:
5 “Gather My (I)godly ones to Me,
Those who have made a (J)covenant with Me by (K)sacrifice.”
6 And the (L)heavens declare His righteousness,
For (M)God Himself is judge. [b]Selah.
2 (A)Listen, O heavens, and hear, O (B)earth;
For the Lord speaks,
“(C)Sons I have reared and brought up,
But they have (D)revolted against Me.
3 “An ox knows its owner,
And a donkey its master’s manger,
But Israel (E)does not know,
My people (F)do not understand.”
4 Alas, sinful nation,
People weighed down with iniquity,
[a](G)Offspring of evildoers,
Sons who (H)act corruptly!
They have (I)abandoned the Lord,
They have (J)despised the Holy One of Israel,
They have turned away [b]from Him.
5 Where will you be stricken again,
As you (K)continue in your rebellion?
The whole head is (L)sick
And the whole heart is faint.
6 (M)From the sole of the foot even to the head
There is (N)nothing sound in it,
Only bruises, welts and raw wounds,
(O)Not pressed out or bandaged,
Nor softened with oil.
7 Your (P)land is desolate,
Your cities are burned with fire,
Your fields—strangers are devouring them in your presence;
It is desolation, as overthrown by strangers.
8 The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard,
Like a watchman’s hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.
9 (Q)Unless the Lord of hosts
Had left us a few (R)survivors,
We would be like (S)Sodom,
We would be like Gomorrah.
Zion Corrupted, to Be Redeemed
21 How the faithful city has become a (A)harlot,
She who was full of justice!
Righteousness once lodged in her,
But now murderers.
22 Your silver has become dross,
Your drink diluted with water.
23 Your (B)rulers are rebels
And companions of thieves;
Everyone (C)loves a bribe
And chases after rewards.
They (D)do not [a]defend the [b]orphan,
Nor does the widow’s plea come before them.
19 “(A)Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves (B)treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for (C)where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “(D)The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is [a]clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if (E)your eye is [b]bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24 “(F)No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and [c](G)wealth.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.