Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 58
Do You Rulers Speak Justly?
Heading
For the choir director. “Do Not Destroy.”[a] By David. A miktam.
Unjust Rulers
1 Do you “gods” really speak righteously?[b]
Do you sons of Adam judge rightly?
2 No, in your heart you commit injustices.
On the earth your hands distribute violence.
3 The wicked go off course already from the womb.
From the belly they go astray. They speak lies.
4 Their venom is like the venom of a snake,
like a deaf cobra that has stopped its ears,
5 that will not listen to the sound of the charmers,
however skillful the spellbinder may be.
The Curse on Unjust Rulers
6 O God, break their teeth in their mouths.
Tear out the fangs of the young lions, Lord!
7 Let them vanish like water that flows away.
When he draws his bow, let his arrows be cut off.[c]
8 As a slug melts away as it crawls along, so let him disappear.
Like a stillborn child may they not see the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns—
whether the thorns are green or dry—they will be swept away.[d]
The Joy of the Righteous
10 The righteous one will be glad when he sees vengeance.
He will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Then people will say, “Surely there is fruit for the righteous.
Surely there is a God judging on the earth.”
15 Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16 In those days, when you have been fruitful and increased in number in the land, declares the Lord, men will no longer say, “The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord.” It will not enter their minds. It will not be remembered. It will not be missed, nor will another one be made. 17 Then they will call Jerusalem “The Throne of the Lord.” All nations will gather there in Jerusalem for the sake of the name of the Lord. No longer will they stubbornly follow their own evil hearts.
18 In those days the house of Judah will join with the house of Israel, and together they will come from a land in the north to the land I gave your fathers as an inheritance.
A Dialogue Between the Lord and Israel About True Repentance
The Lord
19 I myself said that I would like to treat you like sons
and give you a desirable land,
the most splendid inheritance among the entire army of nations.
I thought you would call me Father
and would no longer turn away from me.
20 But you, O house of Israel, have been unfaithful to me,
like a wife who is unfaithful to her husband, declares the Lord.
21 A cry is heard on the bare hills,
the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel,
because they have perverted their way.
They have forgotten the Lord their God.
22 Return, unfaithful people.
I will cure you of your unfaithfulness.
The People
Yes, we will come to you,
for you are the Lord our God!
23 Yes, there has been deception from the hills,
and commotion in the mountains,
but there is salvation for Israel in the Lord our God.
24 Since our younger days,
shameful gods have consumed the results of our fathers’ hard work,
their sheep and cattle,
and their sons and daughters.
25 We will lie down in that shame.
Our disgrace covers us.
We have sinned against the Lord our God,
both we and our fathers.
From our younger days until today,
we have not obeyed the Lord our God.
The Parable of the Great Banquet
15 When one of those at the table with him heard these things, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will feast in the kingdom of God!”
16 Jesus said to him, “A certain man made a great banquet and invited many people. 17 When it was time for the banquet, he sent out his servant to tell those who were invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses.
“The first one told him, ‘I bought a field, and I need to go and see it. I ask you to excuse me.’
19 “Another one said, ‘I bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out. I ask you to excuse me.’
20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, and so I am unable to attend.’
21 “The servant arrived and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house was angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town, and bring in here the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’
22 “The servant said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and there is still room.’
23 “Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and urge them to come in, so that my house may be filled. 24 Yes, I tell you that none of those men who were invited will taste my banquet.’”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.