Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Book III
(Psalms 73–89)
Psalm 73
Plea for Relief from Oppressors
A Psalm of Asaph.
1 Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.(A)
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
my steps had nearly slipped.(B)
3 For I was envious of the arrogant;
I saw the prosperity of the wicked.(C)
4 For they have no pain;
their bodies are sound and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not plagued like other people.(D)
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them like a garment.(E)
7 Their eyes swell out with fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.(F)
8 They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.(G)
9 They set their mouths against heaven,
and their tongues range over the earth.
10 Therefore the people turn and praise them[a]
and find no fault in them.[b]
11 And they say, “How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”(H)
12 Such are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.(I)
13 All in vain I have kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.(J)
14 For all day long I have been plagued
and am punished every morning.(K)
15 If I had said, “I will talk on in this way,”
I would have been untrue to the circle of your children.
16 But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,(L)
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I perceived their end.(M)
18 Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.(N)
19 How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!(O)
20 They are[c] like a dream when one awakes;
on awaking you despise their phantoms.(P)
32 “And now, my children, listen to me:
happy are those who keep my ways.(A)
33 Hear instruction and be wise,
and do not neglect it.
34 Happy is the one who listens to me,
watching daily at my gates,
waiting beside my doors.(B)
35 For whoever finds me finds life
and obtains favor from the Lord,(C)
36 but those who miss me injure themselves;
all who hate me love death.”(D)
Wisdom’s Feast
9 Wisdom has built her house;
she has hewn her seven pillars.(E)
2 She has slaughtered her animals; she has mixed her wine;
she has also set her table.(F)
3 She has sent out her female servants; she calls
from the highest places in the town,(G)
4 “You who are simple, turn in here!”
To those without sense she says,(H)
5 “Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.(I)
6 Lay aside immaturity and live,
and walk in the way of insight.”(J)
The Faith of Other Israelite Heroes
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned.(A) 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days.(B) 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient,[a] because she had received the spies in peace.(C)
32 And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,(D) 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.(E) 35 Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection.(F) 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging and even chains and imprisonment.(G) 37 They were stoned to death; they were sawn in two;[b] they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented(H)— 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains and in caves and holes in the ground.(I)
39 Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect.(J)
The Example of Jesus
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely,[c] and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,(K) 2 looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith, who for the sake of[d] the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.(L)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.