Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

To the chief Musician: an instruction. Of David; when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David came to the house of Ahimelech.

52 Why boastest thou thyself in evil, thou mighty man? The loving-kindness of God [abideth] continually.

² Thy tongue deviseth mischievous things, like a sharp razor, practising deceit.

³ Thou hast loved evil rather than good, lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.

⁴ Thou hast loved all devouring words, O deceitful tongue!

⁵ God shall likewise destroy thee for ever; he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of [thy] tent, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.

⁶ The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him, [saying,]

⁷ Behold the man that made not God his strength, but put confidence in the abundance of his riches, [and] strengthened himself in his avarice.

⁸ But as for me, I am like a green olive-tree in the house of God: I will confide in the loving-kindness of God for ever and ever.

⁹ I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done [it]; and I will wait on thy name, before thy godly ones, for it is good.

6 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion and that are secure in the mountain of Samaria, the renowned of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come.

² Pass unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go to Hamath the great; and go down to Gath of the Philistines: are they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?

³ Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;

⁴ that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves from the midst of the stall;

⁵ that chant to the sound of the lute, [and] invent them instruments of music, like David;

⁶ that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments; but are not grieved for the breach of Joseph.

⁷ Therefore shall they now go captive, with the first that go captive, and the revelry of them that stretched themselves shall pass away.

⁸ The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by himself, saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, I abhor the pride of Jacob, and hate his palaces; and I will deliver up the city with all that is therein.

⁹ And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.

¹⁰ And a man's uncle, and he that should burn him, shall take him up to bring out the bones from the house, and shall say unto him that is in the inner parts of the house, Is there yet [any] with thee? and he shall say, None. And he will say, Silence! for we may not make mention of Jehovah's name.

¹¹ For behold, Jehovah commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.

¹² Shall horses run upon the rock? will [men] plough [thereon] with oxen? For ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,

¹³ —ye that rejoice in a thing of nought, that say, Have we not taken to us power by our own strength?

¹⁴ For behold, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah the God of hosts, I will raise up against you a nation; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hamath unto the torrent of the Arabah.

⁴ And a great crowd coming together, and those who were coming to him out of each city, he spoke by parable:

⁵ The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the way, and it was trodden under foot, and the birds of the heaven devoured it up;

⁶ and other fell upon the rock, and having sprung up, it was dried up because it had not moisture;

⁷ and other fell in the midst of the thorns, and the thorns having sprung up with [it] choked it;

⁸ and other fell into the good ground, and having sprung up bore fruit a hundredfold. As he said these things he cried, He that has ears to hear, let him hear.

⁹ And his disciples asked him [saying], What may this parable be?

¹⁰ And he said, To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest in parables, in order that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.