Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
58 1 He describeth the malice of his enemies, the flatterers of Saul, who both secretly and openly sought his destruction, from whom he appealeth to God’s judgment, 10 Showing that the just shall rejoice, when they see the punishment of the wicked to the glory of God.
To him that excelleth. Destroy not. A Psalm of David on Michtam.
1 Is it true? O [a]congregation, speak ye justly? O sons of men judge ye uprightly?
2 Yea, rather ye imagine mischief in your heart: [b]your hands execute cruelty upon the earth.
3 The wicked [c]are strangers from the womb: even from the belly have they erred, and speak lies.
4 Their poison is even like the poison of a serpent; like the deaf [d]adder that stoppeth his ear.
5 Which heareth not the voice of the enchanter, though he be most expert in charming.
6 Break their [e]teeth, O God, in their mouths: break the jaws of the young lions, O Lord.
7 Let them [f]melt like the waters, let them pass away; when he shooteth his arrows, let them be as broken.
8 Let them consume like a snail that melteth, and like the untimely fruit of a woman, that hath not seen the sun.
9 [g]As raw flesh before your pots feel the fire of thorns: so let them carry them away as with a whirlwind in his wrath.
10 The righteous shall [h]rejoice when he seeth the vengeance; he shall wash his feet in the [i]blood of the wicked.
11 And men shall say, [j]Verily there is fruit for the righteous; doubtless there is a God that judgeth in the earth.
23 How canst thou say, I am not polluted, neither have I [a]followed Baal? behold thy ways in the valley, and know what thou hast done: thou art like a swift [b]dromedary, that runneth by his ways.
24 And as a wild [c]ass used to the wilderness that snuffeth up the wind by occasion at her pleasure: who can turn her back? all they that seek her, will not weary themselves, but will find her in her [d]month.
25 Keep thou thy feet from [e]bareness, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidest desperately, No, for I have loved strangers, and them will I follow.
26 As the [f]thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed, they, their kings, their princes and their priests, and their prophets,
27 Saying to a tree, Thou art my [g]father, and to a stone, Thou hast begotten me: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and help us.
28 But where are thy gods, that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can help thee in the time of thy trouble: for according [h]to the number of thy cities, are thy gods, O Judah.
29 Wherefore will [i]ye plead with me? ye all have rebelled against me, saith the Lord.
30 I have smitten your children in vain, they received no correction: your own [j]sword hath devoured your Prophets like a destroying lion.
31 O generation, take heed to the word of the Lord: have I been as a [k]wilderness unto Israel? or a land of darkness? Wherefore saith my people then, We are lords, [l]we will come no more unto thee?
32 Can a maid forget her ornament, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me, days without number.
33 Why dost thou prepare thy way, to [m]seek amity? even therefore will I teach thee, that thy ways are wickedness.
34 Also in thy [n]wings is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it in holes, but upon all these places.
35 Yet thou sayest, Because I am guiltless, surely his wrath shall turn from me: behold, I will enter with thee into judgment, because thou sayest, I have not sinned.
36 Why runnest thou about so much to change thy ways? for thou shalt be confounded of Egypt, [o]as thou art confounded of Assyria.
37 For thou shalt go forth from thence, and thine hands upon [p]thine head, because the Lord hath rejected thy confidence, and thou shalt not prosper thereby.
7 So that we may boldly say, (A)The Lord is mine helper, neither will I fear what [a]man can do unto me.
8 [b]Remember them which have the oversight of you, which have declared unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering what hath been the end of their conversation. [c]Jesus Christ yesterday, and today, the same also is forever.
9 Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines: [d]for it is a good thing that the heart be stablished with grace, and not with [e]meats, which have not profited them that have been [f]occupied therein.
10 [g]We have an [h]altar, whereof they have no authority to eat, which [i]serve in the Tabernacle.
11 (B)For the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high Priest for sin, are burnt without the camp.
12 Therefore even Jesus, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
13 [j]Let us go forth to him therefore out of the camp, bearing his reproach.
14 (C)For here have we no continuing city: but we seek one to come.
15 [k]Let us therefore by him offer the sacrifice of praise always to God, that is, the (D)fruit of the lips, which confess his Name.
16 To do good, and to distribute forget not: for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
17 [l]Obey them that have the oversight of you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give accounts, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
18 [m]Pray for us, for we are assured that we have a good conscience in all things, desiring to live honestly.
19 And I desire you somewhat the more earnestly, that ye so do, that I may be restored to you more quickly.
20 The God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting Covenant,
21 Make you [n]perfect in all good works, to do his will, [o]working in you that which is pleasant in his sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise forever and ever, Amen.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.