Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 71
God’s Help in Old Age
1 Lord, I seek refuge in you;
let me never be disgraced.(A)
2 In your justice, rescue and deliver me;
listen closely to me and save me.(B)
3 Be a rock of refuge for me,
where I can always go.
Give the command to save me,
for you are my rock and fortress.(C)
4 Deliver me, my God, from the power of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and oppressive.(D)
5 For you are my hope, Lord God,
my confidence from my youth.(E)
6 I have leaned on you from birth;
you took me from my mother’s womb.(F)
My praise is always about you.(G)
Threatened Siege of Jerusalem
6 “Run for cover(A)
out of Jerusalem, Benjaminites.
Sound the ram’s horn(B) in Tekoa;(C)
raise a smoke signal(D) over Beth-haccherem,[a]
for disaster threatens from the north,(E)
even a crushing blow.
2 Though she is beautiful and delicate,
I will destroy[b] Daughter Zion.
3 Shepherds and their flocks will come against her;
they will pitch their tents all around her.(F)
Each will pasture his own portion.
4 Set them apart for war(G) against her;
rise up, let’s attack at noon.
Woe to us, for the day is passing;
the evening shadows grow long.
5 Rise up, let’s attack by night.
Let’s destroy her fortresses.”
6 For this is what the Lord of Armies says:
Cut down the trees;(H)
raise a siege ramp against Jerusalem.
This city must be punished.
There is nothing but oppression within her.(I)
7 As a well gushes out its water,
so she pours out her evil.[c]
Violence and destruction(J) resound in her.
Sickness and wounds keep coming to my attention.
8 Be warned, Jerusalem,
or I will turn away from you;(K)
I will make you a desolation,
a land without inhabitants.(L)
Wrath on Israel
9 This is what the Lord of Armies says:
Glean the remnant of Israel(M)
as thoroughly as a vine.
Pass your hand once more like a grape gatherer
over the branches.
10 Who can I speak to and give such a warning[d]
that they will listen?
Look, their ear is uncircumcised,[e](N)
so they cannot pay attention.
See, the word of the Lord has become contemptible to them—
they find no pleasure in it.(O)
11 But I am full of the Lord’s wrath;
I am tired of holding it back.(P)
Pour it out on the children in the street,(Q)
on the gathering of young men as well.
For both husband and wife will be captured,
the old with the very old.[f]
12 Their houses will be turned over to others,(R)
their fields and wives as well,
for I will stretch out my hand(S)
against the inhabitants of the land.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
13 For from the least to the greatest of them,(T)
everyone is making profit dishonestly.(U)
From prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.(V)
14 They have treated my people’s brokenness superficially,
claiming, “Peace, peace,”(W)
when there is no peace.
15 Were they ashamed when they acted so detestably?
They weren’t at all ashamed.
They can no longer feel humiliation.(X)
Therefore, they will fall among the fallen.
When I punish them, they will collapse,(Y)
says the Lord.
Disaster because of Disobedience
16 This is what the Lord says:
Fatherly Discipline
3 For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, so that you won’t grow weary and give up.(A) 4 In struggling against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons:
My son, do not take the Lord’s discipline lightly
or lose heart when you are reproved by him,
6 for the Lord disciplines the one he loves
and punishes every son he receives.[a](B)
7 Endure suffering as discipline: God is dealing with you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline—which all receive[b]—then you are illegitimate children and not sons.(C) 9 Furthermore, we had human fathers discipline us, and we respected them. Shouldn’t we submit even more to the Father of spirits and live?(D) 10 For they disciplined us for a short time based on what seemed good to them, but he does it for our benefit, so that we can share his holiness.(E) 11 No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the peaceful fruit(F) of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.(G)
12 Therefore, strengthen your tired hands and weakened knees,(H) 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated[c] but healed instead.(I)
Warning against Rejecting God’s Grace
14 Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness(J)—without it no one will see the Lord.(K) 15 Make sure that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and defiling many.(L) 16 And make sure that there isn’t any immoral[d] or irreverent(M) person like Esau, who sold his birthright in exchange for a single meal.(N) 17 For you know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, even though he sought it with tears, because he didn’t find any opportunity for repentance.(O)
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