Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 123

A Song of ^[a]Ascents.

¹ Unto You do I lift up my eyes, O You Who are enthroned in heaven.

² Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, and as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until He has mercy and loving-kindness for us.

³ Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on and loving-kindness for us, for we are exceedingly satiated with contempt.

⁴ Our life is exceedingly filled with the scorning and scoffing of those who are at ease and with the contempt of the proud (irresponsible tyrants who disregard God’s law).

5 Then sang Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam on that day, saying,

² For the leaders who took the lead in Israel, for the people who offered themselves willingly, bless the Lord!

³ Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes; I will sing to the Lord. I will sing praise to the Lord, the God of Israel.

⁴ Lord, when You went forth out of Seir, when You marched out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled and the heavens also dropped, yes, the clouds dropped water.

⁵ The mountains quaked at the presence of the Lord, yes, yonder Sinai at the presence of the Lord, the God of Israel.

⁶ After the days of Shamgar son of Anath, after the days of Jael [meaning here Ehud] the caravans ceased, travelers walked through byways.

⁷ The villages were unoccupied and rulers ceased in Israel until ^[a]you arose—you, Deborah, arose—a mother in Israel.

⁸ [Formerly] they chose new gods; then war was in the gates. Was there a shield or spear seen among 40,000 in Israel?

⁹ My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless the Lord!

¹⁰ Tell of it—you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets, and you who walk by the way.

¹¹ Far from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord, even the righteous acts toward His villagers in Israel. Then the people of the Lord went down to the gates.

¹² Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, utter a song! Arise, Barak, and lead away your captives, you son of Abinoam.

⁴³ But when the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, it roams through dry [arid] places in search of rest, but it does not find any.

⁴⁴ Then it says, I will go back to my house from which I came out. And when it arrives, it finds the place unoccupied, swept, put in order, and decorated.

⁴⁵ Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and make their home there. And the last condition of that man becomes worse than the first. So also shall it be with this wicked generation.