Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
123 O God enthroned in heaven, I lift my eyes to you.
2 We look to Jehovah our God for his mercy and kindness just as a servant keeps his eyes upon his master or a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.
3-4 Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy. For we have had our fill of contempt and of the scoffing of the rich and proud.
5 Then Deborah and Barak sang this song about the wonderful victory:
2 “Praise the Lord!
Israel’s leaders bravely led;
The people gladly followed!
Yes, bless the Lord!
3 Listen, O you kings and princes,
For I shall sing about the Lord,
The God of Israel.
4 When you led us out from Seir,
Out across the fields of Edom,
The earth trembled
And the sky poured down its rain.
5 Yes, even Mount Sinai quaked
At the presence of the God of Israel!
6 In the days of Shamgar and of Jael,
The main roads were deserted.
Travelers used the narrow, crooked side paths.
7 Israel’s population dwindled,
Until Deborah became a mother to Israel.
8 When Israel chose new gods,
Everything collapsed.
Our masters would not let us have
A shield or spear.
Among forty thousand men of Israel,
Not a weapon could be found!
9 How I rejoice
In the leaders of Israel
Who offered themselves so willingly!
Praise the Lord!
10 Let all Israel, rich and poor,
Join in his praises—
Those who ride on white donkeys
And sit on rich carpets,
And those who are poor and must walk.
11 The village musicians
Gather at the village well
To sing of the triumphs of the Lord.
Again and again they sing the ballad
Of how the Lord saved Israel
With an army of peasants!
The people of the Lord
Marched through the gates!
12 Awake, O Deborah, and sing!
Arise, O Barak!
O son of Abinoam, lead away your captives!
43-45 “This evil nation is like a man possessed by a demon. For if the demon leaves, it goes into the deserts[a] for a while, seeking rest but finding none. Then it says, ‘I will return to the man I came from.’ So it returns and finds the man’s heart clean but empty! Then the demon finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and all enter the man and live in him. And so he is worse off than before.”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.