Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Consider Zion’s Towers
Psalm 48
1 A song, a psalm of the sons of Korah.
2 Great is Adonai, and greatly to be praised
in the city of our God—His holy mountain.
3 A beautiful height—the joy of the whole earth—
is Mount Zion, on the northern side of the city of the great King.[a]
4 God, in her palaces,
is known as a stronghold.
5 For behold, the kings assembled,
they advanced together.
6 They saw, then they were astounded,
they fled in terror.
7 Trembling seized them there,
pain like a woman in labor.
8 With an east wind
You broke the ships of Tarshish.
9 As we have heard, so have we seen,
in the city of Adonai-Tzva’ot,
in the city of our God.
God will establish her forever. Selah
10 We have meditated on Your lovingkindness, O God,
in the midst of Your Temple.
11 Like Your Name, O God,
so is Your praise
to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is full of righteousness.
12 Mount Zion is glad,
the daughters of Judah rejoice,
because of Your judgments.
13 Walk about Zion, go around her.
Count her towers.
14 Consider her ramparts,
go through her palaces,
so you may describe it to the next generation.
15 For this God is our God, forever and ever!
He will guide us to the end.
14 The word of Adonai came to me saying: 15 “Son of man, as for your kinsmen, your kinsmen, fellow exiles and the whole house of Israel—all of them—are those about whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, ‘Keep far away from Adonai! This land has been given to us for a possession!’” 16 Therefore say, thus says Adonai Elohim, “Though I removed them far away, among the nations, though I scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I was a sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.”
Heart of Stone to Heart of Flesh
17 Therefore say, thus says Adonai Elohim, “I will gather you from the peoples and collect you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. 18 When they come there, they will remove all of its detestable things and all of its abominations. 19 Then I will give them one heart. I will put a new Spirit within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, 20 so that they may follow My laws, keep My ordinances and practice them. They will be My people and I will be their God. 21 As for those whose heart walks after the heart of their detestable things and abominations, I will bring their ways upon their heads.” It is a declaration of Adonai Elohim.
The Glory Departs Jerusalem
22 Then the cheruvim lifted up their wings. The wheels were beside them. The glory of the God of Israel was over them from above. 23 The glory of Adonai went up from within the city and then stood still on the mountain that is to the east of the city. 24 The Ruach lifted me and brought me in the vision by the Ruach Elohim to Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen left me. 25 So I told the exiles all the things that Adonai had shown me.
12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God—so we might come to know the things freely given to us by God. 13 These things we also speak—not in words taught by human wisdom but in words taught by the Ruach, explaining the spiritual to the spiritual.
14 Now a natural man does not accept the things of the Ruach Elohim, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But the one who is spiritual discerns all things, and he himself is discerned by no one. For
16 “who has known the mind of Adonai,
that he will instruct Him?”[a]
But we have the mind of Messiah.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.