Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 74
Prayer for Israel
A Maskil of Asaph.(A)
1 Why have you rejected us forever, God?
Why does your anger burn
against the sheep of your pasture?(B)
2 Remember your congregation,
which you purchased long ago
and redeemed as the tribe for your own possession.(C)
Remember Mount Zion where you dwell.(D)
3 Make your way[a] to the perpetual ruins,
to all that the enemy has destroyed in the sanctuary.(E)
4 Your adversaries roared in the meeting place
where you met with us.[b]
They set up their emblems as signs.(F)
5 It was like men in a thicket of trees,
wielding axes,(G)
6 then smashing all the carvings
with hatchets and picks.(H)
7 They set your sanctuary on fire;
they utterly[c] desecrated
the dwelling place of your name.(I)
8 They said in their hearts,
“Let’s oppress them relentlessly.”
They burned every place throughout the land
where God met with us.[d](J)
9 There are no signs for us to see.
There is no longer a prophet.
And none of us knows how long this will last.(K)
10 God, how long will the enemy mock?
Will the foe insult your name forever?(L)
11 Why do you hold back your hand?
Stretch out[e] your right hand and destroy them!(M)
12 God my King is from ancient times,
performing saving acts on the earth.(N)
13 You divided the sea with your strength;
you smashed the heads of the sea monsters in the water;(O)
14 you crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you fed him to the creatures of the desert. (P)
15 You opened up springs and streams;(Q)
you dried up ever-flowing rivers.(R)
16 The day is yours, also the night;
you established the moon and the sun.(S)
17 You set all the boundaries of the earth;
you made summer and winter.(T)
18 Remember this: the enemy has mocked the Lord,
and a foolish people has insulted your name.(U)
19 Do not give to beasts the life of your dove;[f]
do not forget the lives of your poor people forever.(V)
20 Consider the covenant,(W)
for the dark places of the land are full of violence.(X)
21 Do not let the oppressed turn away in shame;
let the poor and needy praise your name.(Y)
22 Rise up, God, champion your cause!(Z)
Remember the insults
that fools bring against you all day long.(AA)
23 Do not forget the clamor of your adversaries,
the tumult of your opponents that goes up constantly.(AB)
Leviathan Slain
27 On that day the Lord with his relentless, large, strong sword will bring judgment on Leviathan,(A) the fleeing serpent—Leviathan, the twisting serpent. He will slay the monster that is in the sea.(B)
The Lord’s Vineyard
2 On that day
sing about a desirable vineyard:(C)
3 I am the Lord, who watches over it
to water it regularly.
So that no one disturbs it,
I watch over it night and day.
4 I am not angry.
If only there were thorns and briers(D) for me to battle,
I would trample them
and burn them to the ground.
5 Or let it take hold of my strength;
let it make peace with me—
make peace with me.
6 In days to come, Jacob will take root.(E)
Israel will blossom and bloom(F)
and fill the whole world with fruit.
7 Did the Lord strike Israel
as he struck the one who struck Israel?(G)
Was Israel killed like those killed by the Lord?
8 You disputed with Israel
by banishing and driving her away.[a]
He removed her with his severe storm
on the day of the east wind.
9 Therefore Jacob’s iniquity(H) will be atoned for in this way,
and the result of the removal of his sin will be this:(I)
when he makes all the altar stones
like crushed bits of chalk,
no Asherah poles or incense altars will remain standing.
10 For the fortified city will be desolate,
pastures deserted and abandoned like a wilderness.
Calves will graze there,
and there they will spread out and strip its branches.
11 When its branches dry out, they will be broken off.
Women will come and make fires with them,
for they are not a people with understanding.(J)
Therefore their Maker(K) will not have compassion on them,
and their Creator will not be gracious to them.
12 On that day(L)
the Lord will thresh grain from the Euphrates River
as far as the Wadi of Egypt,(M)
and you Israelites will be gathered one by one.
13 On that day
a great ram’s horn(N) will be blown,
and those lost in the land of Assyria will come,
as well as those dispersed in the land of Egypt;
and they will worship the Lord
at Jerusalem on the holy mountain.
Cleansing the Temple
45 He(A) went into the temple and began to throw out those who were selling,[a] 46 and he said, “It is written, my house will be a house of prayer,(B) but you have made it a den of thieves!”[b](C)
47 Every day he was teaching(D) in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people were looking for a way to kill(E) him, 48 but they could not find a way to do it, because all the people(F) were captivated by what they heard.
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