Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 52[a]
Prayer for Help against Calumniators
1 For the director.[b] A maskil of David. 2 When Doeg the Edomite went and told Saul, “David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.”
3 Why do you boast of your evil deeds,
you champion of malice?[c]
All day long 4 you plot harm;
your tongue is like a sharpened razor,
you master of deceit.
5 [d]You love evil rather than good,
and lies rather than truthful speech. Selah
6 You wallow in destructive talk,
you tongue of deceit.
7 [e]This is the reason why God will crush you
and destroy you once and for all.
He will snatch you from your tent[f]
and uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
8 The righteous will see and be afraid;
they will mock him:
9 “This is the man
who refused to accept God as his refuge.
Rather, he placed his trust in his abundant riches
and gathered strength by his crimes.”
10 [g]But I am like a green olive tree[h]
in the house of God.
I place my trust forever and ever
in the kindness of God.
11 I will praise you forever
for what you have done,[i]
and in the presence of the saints
I will proclaim the goodness of your name.
Because You Crush the Weak
10 They hate the one who preaches justice at the city gate
and abhor the one who speaks the truth.
11 Therefore, because you have trampled upon the poor
and extorted levies on their wheat,
even though you have built houses of hewn stone,
you will never live in them;
although you have planted pleasant vineyards,
you will never drink their wine.
12 For I know how many are your crimes
and how monstrous are your sins.
You oppress the innocent, accept bribes,
and push aside the destitute at the gates.
13 Therefore, the prudent man keeps silent in such a situation,
for it is an evil period.
Seek the Good So That You Will Live
14 Seek good and not evil,
so that you may live.
Then the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you
as you claim he is.
15 Hate evil and love good,
and let justice prevail at the city gate.
Then it is possible that the Lord, the God of hosts,
will show mercy to the remnant of Joseph.[a]
16 The Countryside Is Devastated. Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of hosts, the Almighty, has to say:
In every public square there will be lamentation;
in every street they will cry out, “Alas! Alas!”
They will summon the farmers to wail,
and the professional mourners to lament.
17 There will be wailing in every vineyard,
for I will pass through your midst,
says the Lord.
Chapter 5
1 Every high priest is taken from among men to represent them in their dealings with God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.[a] 2 He is able to deal patiently with those who are ignorant and misguided, since he himself is subject to weakness. 3 And as a result of this, he must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. 4 Moreover, one does not assume this position of honor on his own initiative, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
5 Even Christ did not confer upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. Rather, he was appointed by the one who said to him:
“You are my Son;
this day I have begotten you.”
6 And he says in another place:
“You are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchizedek.”
Copyright © 2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.