Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 80
For the music leader. According to “Lotus Blossoms.” A testimony of Asaph. A psalm.
80 Shepherd of Israel, listen!
You, the one who leads Joseph as if he were a sheep.
You, who are enthroned upon the winged heavenly creatures.
Show yourself 2 before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh!
Wake up your power!
Come to save us!
3 Restore us, God!
Make your face shine so that we can be saved!
4 Lord God of heavenly forces,
how long will you fume against your people’s prayer?
5 You’ve fed them bread made of tears;
you’ve given them tears to drink three times over!
6 You’ve put us at odds with our neighbors;
our enemies make fun of us.
7 Restore us, God of heavenly forces!
Make your face shine so that we can be saved!
8 You brought a vine out of Egypt.
You drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it;
then it planted its roots deep, filling the land.
10 The mountains were covered by its shade;
the mighty cedars were covered by its branches.
11 It sent its branches all the way to the sea;
its shoots went all the way to the Euphrates River.[a]
12 So why have you now torn down its walls
so that all who come along can pluck its fruit,
13 so that any boar from the forest can tear it up,
so that the bugs can feed on it?
14 Please come back, God of heavenly forces!
Look down from heaven and perceive it!
Attend to this vine,
15 this root that you planted with your strong hand,
this son whom you secured as your very own.
16 It is burned with fire. It is chopped down.
They die at the rebuke coming from you.
17 Let your hand be with the one on your right side—
with the one whom you secured as your own—
18 then we will not turn away from you!
Revive us so that we can call on your name.
19 Restore us, Lord God of heavenly forces!
Make your face shine so that we can be saved!
Warnings to the carefree
9 Women of leisure, stand up! Hear my voice!
Carefree daughters, listen to my word!
10 In a little over a year,
the carefree will shudder,
because the grape harvest will fail;
the vintage won’t arrive.
11 Tremble, all of you who are at ease;
shudder, all of you who are secure!
Strip yourselves, bare your skin,
and tie mourning clothes around your waist,
12 beating your breasts for the pleasant fields,
for the fruitful vine,
13 for my people’s soil
growing barbs and thorns,
for all the joyous houses
in the jubilant town.
14 The palace will be deserted,
the crowded city abandoned.
Stronghold and watchtower
will become empty fields forever,
suited for the pleasure of wild donkeys,
and a pasture for flocks—
15 until a spirit from on high
is poured out on us,
and the desert turns into farmland, and the farmland is considered a forest.
16 Then justice will reside in wild lands,
and righteousness will abide in farmlands.
17 The fruit of righteousness will be peace,
and the outcome of righteousness,
calm and security forever.
18 Then my people will live in a peaceful dwelling,
in secure homes, in carefree resting places.
19 Even if the forest falls[a]
and the humbled city is laid low,
20 those who sow beside any stream will be happy,
sending out ox and donkey to graze.
17 What of the wisdom from above? First, it is pure, and then peaceful, gentle, obedient, filled with mercy and good actions, fair, and genuine. 18 Those who make peace sow the seeds of justice by their peaceful acts.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible