Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 52
For the worship leader. A contemplative song[a] of David when the Edomite Doeg told Saul that David had received help from Ahimelech.
Psalm 52 recalls the callous way Doeg and Saul put to death the 85 priests of Nob (1 Samuel 22:6–19). The psalm ends with a memorable image: the one who keeps faith with God is like a lush olive tree cared for in His garden. While those who do not trust in Him are snatched up and torn away, those who do right will flourish under His care.
1 Why do you boast of all the trouble you stir up, O mighty one,
when the constant, unfailing love of God is what truly lasts?
2 Have you listened to yourself?
Your tongue is like a sharp razor,
full of lies that slash and tear right to the soul.
3 You’ve fallen in love with evil and have no interest in what He calls good.
You prefer your own lies to speaking what is true.
[pause][b]
4 You love words that destroy people, don’t you,
lying tongue?
5 You won’t be smiling
when the True God brings His justice and destroys you forever.
He will come into your home, snatch you away,
and pull you from the land of the living.
[pause]
6 Those who are just will see what happens to you and be afraid.
And some of them will laugh and say,
7 “Hey, look! Over there is the one who didn’t take
shelter in the True God;
Instead, he trusted in his great wealth
and got what he wanted by destroying others!”
8 But my life is abundant—like a lush olive tree
cared for at the house of the one True God.
I put my trust in His kind love
forever and ever; it will never fail.
9 Because of all You have done,
I will humble myself and thank You forever.
With Your faithful people at my side,
I will put my hope in Your good reputation.
10 Those of you who hold power now hate the one who judges in the courts at the gate
and detest anybody who speaks the truth.
11 So because you have climbed to success on the backs of the poor[a]
and your wealth comes from taxes you impose on their harvests,
You may well build mansions of expensively-cut stones,
but you’ll never occupy them.
You may plant beautiful vineyards,
but you’ll never enjoy their delicious wine.
12 For I know the depth of evil that you’ve done,
and I see the gravity of your sins:
You persecute those who do the right thing, you take bribes,
and you push the poor to one side in the courts at the city gates instead of helping them.
13 So the wise may decide to keep quiet just then,
because truly, it is an evil time.
14 Search for good and not for evil
so that you may live;
That way the Eternal God, the Commander of heavenly armies, will be at your side,
as you yourselves have even said.
15 Hate what is evil, and love all that is good;
apply His laws justly in the courts at the city gates,
And it may be that the Eternal God, the Commander of heavenly armies,
will have mercy on those descendants of Joseph who survived.
Amos looks into the future to a day when God’s judgment will fall on His people. But judgment and destruction are not intended to be the end. The last word belongs to God, and it is a word of mercy on His covenant people. Sin, of course, must be dealt with; it must be punished decisively. But in God’s grace, some will survive the onslaught. These survivors the prophets call “the remnant.” They are the ones God destines to be restored and to carry on His name. Centuries later, the remnant will refound Israel and extend the covenant blessings to every family on the face of the earth.
16 So says the Eternal God, Commander of heavenly armies, the Lord of all:
Eternal One: Get ready to hear wailing from every street,
people crying out in pain and sorrow along every highway.
The farmers will be pulled away from their fields to mourn,
and those who are trained to grieve will wail with them.
17 In every vineyard, there will be mourning
because I will pass through the middle of you.
Says the Eternal One.
5 Remember what I said earlier about the role of the high priest, even the ones chosen by human beings? The job of every high priest is reconciliation: approaching God on behalf of others and offering Him gifts and sacrifices to repair the damage caused by our sins against God and each other. 2 The high priest should have compassion for those who are ignorant of the faith and those who fall out of the faith because he also has wrestled with human weakness, 3 and so the priest must offer sacrifices both for his sins and for those of the people. 4 The office of high priest and the honor that goes along with it isn’t one that someone just takes. One must be set aside, called by God, just as God called Aaron, the brother of Moses.
5 In the same way, the Anointed One, our Liberating King, didn’t call Himself but was appointed to His priestly office by God, who said to Him,
You are My Son.
Today I have become Your Father,[a]
6 and who also says elsewhere,
You are a priest forever—
in the honored order of Melchizedek.[b]
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.