Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 82[a]
Judgment on Abuse of Authority
1 A psalm of Asaph.[b]
God takes his place in the divine council;[c]
in the midst of the gods he pronounces judgment:
2 “How long will you issue unfair judgments
and rule in favor of those who are wicked?[d] Selah
3 [e]“Grant justice to the weak and the orphan;
defend the rights of the lowly and the poor.
4 Rescue the wretched and the needy;
free them from the hand of the wicked.
5 “They neither know nor understand;
they wander around in darkness
while all the foundations of the earth[f] are crumbling.
6 [g]I declare, ‘Although you are gods,
all of you sons of the Most High,
7 you will die as all men do;
like any ruler you will fall.’ ”[h]
8 Rise up, O God, and judge the earth,
for all the nations belong to you.[i]
For Three Crimes of Judah
4 Thus says the Lord:
For three crimes of Judah, and for four,
I will not revoke my decree.
Because they have spurned the law of the Lord
and have not observed his statutes,
having been led astray
by the lies which their fathers followed,
5 I will send fire down on Judah
to devour the palaces of Jerusalem.
The Trial of Israel
For Three Crimes of Israel
6 Thus says the Lord:
For three crimes of Israel, and for four,
I will not revoke my decree.
They sell righteous people for silver
and the poor for a pair of sandals.
7 They have trampled the heads of the poor
into the dust of the earth
and thrust the lowly out of their way.
Father and son lie with the same prostitute,
profaning my holy name.
8 They lie down beside every altar
upon garments acquired as surety,[a]
while drinking in the house of their God
the wine purchased with the fines they impose.
9 Yet I was the one
who destroyed the Amorites[b] before them;
they were as tall as the cedars
and as strong as the oaks.
I was the one
who destroyed their fruit above
and their roots below.
10 I was the one
who brought you up from the land of Egypt
and for forty years led you through the desert
to take possession of the land of the Amorites.
11 I was the one
who raised up some of your sons to be prophets
and some of your young men to be Nazirites.
Is this not indeed true, O Israelites?
says the Lord.
9 “The patriarchs were jealous of Joseph and they sold him into Egypt, but God was with him 10 and rescued him from all his afflictions. He gave Joseph wisdom and the favor of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, who appointed him governor of Egypt and his entire household.
11 “Then a severe famine struck all of Egypt and Canaan, causing severe affliction, and our ancestors could find no food. 12 However, when Jacob learned that there was grain available in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there on their first visit. 13 During their second visit, Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and his ancestry became known to Pharaoh. 14 Then Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his entire family, seventy-five people in all.
15 “Jacob migrated to Egypt, and after he and our ancestors had died there, 16 they were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had purchased from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a sum of money.
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