Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 58
A Cry against Injustice
For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.”[a] A Davidic Miktam.
1 Do you really speak righteously, you mighty ones?[b]
Do you judge people fairly?(A)
2 No, you practice injustice in your hearts;
with your hands you weigh out violence in the land.(B)
3 The wicked go astray from the womb;
liars err from birth.(C)
4 They have venom like the venom of a snake,
like the deaf cobra that stops up its ears,(D)
5 that does not listen to the sound of the charmers
who skillfully weave spells.(E)
6 God, knock the teeth out of their mouths;
Lord, tear out the young lions’ fangs.(F)
7 They will vanish like water that flows by;
they will aim their useless arrows.[c][d](G)
8 Like a slug that moves along in slime,
like a woman’s miscarried child,
they will not see the sun.(H)
9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns—
whether green or burning—
He will sweep them away.[e](I)
10 The righteous one will rejoice
when he sees the retribution;(J)
he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.(K)
11 Then people will say,
“Yes, there is a reward for the righteous!
There is a God who judges on earth!”(L)
15 I will give you shepherds who are loyal to Me,[a](A) and they will shepherd you with knowledge and skill. 16 When you multiply and increase in the land,(B) in those days”—the Lord’s declaration—“no one will say any longer, ‘The ark of the Lord’s covenant.’(C) It will never come to mind, and no one will remember or miss it. It will never again be made. 17 At that time Jerusalem will be called, Yahweh’s Throne,(D) and all the nations will be gathered to it,(E) to the name of Yahweh in Jerusalem.(F) They will cease to follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts. 18 In those days the house of Judah will join with the house of Israel,(G) and they will come together from the land of the north to the land I have given your ancestors to inherit.”(H)
True Repentance
19 I thought: How I long to make you My sons
and give you a desirable land,
the most beautiful inheritance(I) of all the nations.
I thought: You will call Me, my Father,
and never turn away from Me.
20 However, as a woman may betray her lover,[b]
so you have betrayed(J) Me, house of Israel.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
21 A sound is heard on the barren heights,
the children of Israel weeping and begging for mercy,
for they have perverted their way;
they have forgotten the Lord their God.(K)
22 Return, you faithless children.
I will heal your unfaithfulness.(L)
“Here we are, coming to You,
for You are the Lord our God.
23 Surely, falsehood comes from the hills,
commotion from the mountains,(M)
but the salvation of Israel
is only in the Lord our God.(N)
24 From the time of our youth
the shameful one[c] has consumed
what our fathers have worked for—
their flocks and their herds,
their sons and their daughters.
25 Let us lie down in our shame;
let our disgrace cover us.(O)
We have sinned against the Lord our God,(P)
both we and our fathers,
from the time of our youth even to this day.(Q)
We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”
The Parable of the Large Banquet
15 When(A) one of those who reclined at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, “The one who will eat bread in the kingdom of God(B) is blessed!”
16 Then He told him: “A man was giving a large banquet and invited many. 17 At the time of the banquet, he sent his slave to tell those who were invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’
18 “But without exception[a] they all began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. I ask you to excuse me.’
19 “Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m going to try them out. I ask you to excuse me.’
20 “And another said, ‘I just got married,[b](C) and therefore I’m unable to come.’
21 “So the slave came back and reported these things to his master. Then in anger, the master of the house told his slave, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in here the poor, maimed, blind, and lame!’(D)
22 “‘Master,’ the slave said, ‘what you ordered has been done, and there’s still room.’
23 “Then the master told the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and lanes and make them come in, so that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will enjoy my banquet!’”
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