Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
40 So the Lord was angry with his people[a]
and despised the people who belonged to him.[b]
41 He handed them over to[c] the nations,
and those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them;
they were subject to their authority.[d]
43 Many times he delivered[e] them,
but they had a rebellious attitude,[f]
and degraded themselves[g] by their sin.
44 Yet he took notice of their distress,
when he heard their cry for help.
45 He remembered his covenant with them,
and relented[h] because of his great loyal love.
46 He caused all their conquerors[i]
to have pity on them.
47 Deliver us, O Lord, our God.
Gather us from among the nations.
Then we will give thanks[j] to your holy name,
and boast about your praiseworthy deeds.[k]
48 The Lord God of Israel deserves praise,[l]
in the future and forevermore.[m]
Let all the people say, “We agree![n] Praise the Lord!”[o]
The Lord, not Idols, is the Only Worthy Object of Worship
10 You people of Israel,[a] listen to what the Lord has to say to you.
2 The Lord says:
“Do not start following pagan religious practices.[b]
Do not be in awe of signs that occur[c] in the sky
even though the nations hold them in awe.
3 For the religion[d] of these people is worthless.
They cut down a tree in the forest,
and a craftsman makes it into an idol with his tools.[e]
4 He decorates it with overlays of silver and gold.
He uses hammer and nails to fasten it[f] together
so that it will not fall over.
5 Such idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field.
They cannot talk.
They must be carried
because they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them
because they cannot hurt you.
And they do not have any power to help you.”[g]
6 I said,[h]
“There is no one like you, Lord.[i]
You are great,
and you are renowned for your power.[j]
7 Everyone should revere you, O King of all nations,[k]
because you deserve to be revered.[l]
For there is no one like you
among any of the wise people of the nations nor among any of their kings.[m]
8 The people of those nations[n] are both stupid and foolish.
Instruction from a wooden idol is worthless![o]
9 Hammered-out silver is brought from Tarshish[p]
and gold is brought from Ufaz[q] to cover those idols.[r]
They are the handiwork of carpenters and goldsmiths.[s]
They are clothed in blue and purple clothes.[t]
They are all made by skillful workers.[u]
10 The Lord is the only true God.
He is the living God and the everlasting King.
When he shows his anger the earth shakes.
None of the nations can stand up to his fury.
11 You people of Israel should tell those nations this:
‘These gods did not make heaven and earth.
They will disappear[v] from the earth and from under the heavens.’[w]
12 The Lord is the one who[x] by his power made the earth.
He is the one who by his wisdom established the world.
And by his understanding he spread out the skies.
13 When his voice thunders,[y] the heavenly ocean roars.
He makes the clouds rise from the far-off horizons.[z]
He makes the lightning flash out in the midst of the rain.
He unleashes the wind from the places where he stores it.[aa]
14 All these idolaters[ab] will prove to be stupid and ignorant.
Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made.
For the image he forges is merely a sham.[ac]
There is no breath in any of those idols.[ad]
15 They are worthless, mere objects to be mocked.[ae]
When the time comes to punish them, they will be destroyed.
16 The Lord, who is the inheritance[af] of Jacob’s descendants,[ag] is not like them.
He is the one who created everything.
And the people of Israel are those he claims as his own.[ah]
His name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”[ai]
19 For since I am free from all I can make myself a slave to all, in order to gain even more people.[a] 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew to gain the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law)[b] to gain those under the law. 21 To those free from the law I became like one free from the law (though I am not free from God’s law but under the law of Christ) to gain those free from the law. 22 To the weak I became weak in order to gain the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that by all means I may save some.
23 I do all these things because of the gospel, so that I can be a participant in it.
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