Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A song. A Psalm of Asaph
A Plea for Judgment
83 God, do not rest!
Don’t be silent!
Don’t stay inactive, God!
2 See! Your enemies rage;
those who hate you issue threats.[a]
3 They plot against[b] your people
and conspire against your cherished ones.
4 They say, “Let us go and erase them as a nation
so the name of Israel will not be remembered anymore.”
17 Let them be humiliated and terrified permanently
until they die in shame.[a]
18 Then they will know that you alone—
whose name is Lord—
are the Most High over all the earth.
8 “If you’ll go with me, I’ll go,” Barak replied. “But if you won’t go with me, then I’m not going.”
9 She responded, “I will surely go with you, but the road that you’re about to take will not lead to honor for you. The Lord will sell Sisera into the hands of a woman.” Then Deborah got up and went with Barak toward Kedesh. 10 Barak called out the army of the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali to march on Kedesh, and 10,000 men went out to war with him, along with Deborah.
11 Meanwhile, Heber the Kenite had been separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Moses’ father-in-law Hobab. He had pitched his tents far away, near the Elon-bezaanannim.[a] 12 Furthermore, Sisera had been informed that Abinoam’s son Barak had marched on Mount Tabor. 13 So Sisera gathered his iron chariots together from Harosheth-haggoyim[b]—all 900 of them, along with all the people who were assigned to them—and they assembled at the Kishon River.
14 “Get going!” Deborah told Barak. “Because today’s the day when the Lord has dropped Sisera into your hands! Look! The Lord has already gone out ahead of you!” So Barak left Mount Tabor, followed by 10,000 men, 15 and the Lord threw Sisera, all the chariots, and his entire army into a panic right in front of Barak. Then Sisera abandoned his chariot and escaped on foot 16 while Barak chased the chariots and army as far as Harosheth-haggoyim.[c] Sisera’s entire army died in the battle—not even one soldier[d] remained.
Heber’s Wife Jael Kills Sisera
17 Meanwhile, Sisera had escaped on foot to a tent belonging to Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite, since there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the household of Heber the Kenite. 18 Jael went out to greet Sisera. “Turn aside, sir!” she told him. “Turn aside to me! Don’t be afraid.” So he turned aside to her and entered her tent, where she concealed him behind a curtain.[e]
19 He asked her, “Please give me some water to drink, because I’m thirsty.” Instead, she opened a leather container of milk, gave him a drink, and then covered him up. 20 He told her, “Stand in the doorway of the tent, and if anyone comes and asks ‘Is anybody here?’ say ‘No’.”
21 But Heber’s wife Jael grabbed a tent peg in one hand and a hammer in the other,[f] crept up to him quietly, and drove the tent peg right through his temple into the ground below after he had fallen sound asleep from exhaustion. That’s how[g] he died.
22 Meanwhile, as Barak continued chasing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him. “Come with me,” she told him, “and I’ll show you the man you’re looking for!” So he went with her, and there was Sisera, lying dead with the tent peg still embedded in his temple! 23 That’s how God subdued Jabin, king of Canaan right in front of the Israelis that day. 24 And the Israelis gained greater control over King Jabin of Canaan until they had eliminated him.
God will Judge Everyone
2 Therefore, you have no excuse—every one of you who judges. For when you pass judgment on another person, you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who act like this is based on[a] truth. 3 So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on those who practice these things and then do them yourself, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or are you unaware of his rich kindness, forbearance, and patience, that it is God’s kindness that is leading you to repent?
5 But because of your stubborn and unrepentant heart you are reserving wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 For he will repay everyone according to what that person has done: 7 eternal life to those who strive for glory, honor, and immortality by patiently doing good; 8 but wrath and fury for those who in their selfish pride refuse to believe the truth and practice wickedness instead. 9 There will be suffering and anguish for every human being who practices doing evil, for Jews first and for Greeks as well. 10 But there will be glory, honor, and peace for everyone who practices doing good, initially for Jews but also for Greeks as well, 11 because God does not show partiality.
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