Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Trust in God’s Love

52 Why do you take pride in wrong-doing, O powerful man? The loving-kindness of God lasts all day long. ² Your tongue makes plans to destroy like a sharp knife, you who lie. ³ You love what is bad more than what is good, and you speak lies more than you speak the truth. ⁴ You love all words that destroy, O lying tongue.

⁵ But God will destroy you forever. He will pick you up and pull you away from your tent. He will pull up your roots from the land of the living. ⁶ And those who are right will see and be afraid. They will laugh at him, saying, ⁷ “Look, the man who would not make God his safe place, but trusted in his many riches and was strong in his sinful desire.”

⁸ But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the loving-kindness of God forever and ever. ⁹ I will give You thanks forever because of what You have done. And I will hope in Your name, for it is good to be where those who belong to You are.

Israel to Be Destroyed

6 It is bad for those who are taking it easy in Zion, and for those who feel safe on the mountain of Samaria, you great men of the most important nation, to whom the people of Israel come! ² Go over to Calneh and look. And go from there to great Hamath. Then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are they better than these nations? Is their land better than yours? ³ You put off the day of trouble, and bring near the seat of anger.

⁴ How bad it will be for you who lie on beds of ivory and spread out upon your long seats! You eat lambs from the flock and calves from the cattle-house. ⁵ You sing songs to the sound of the harp. Like David you write songs for yourselves. ⁶ You drink wine from the holy dishes, and pour the best oil on yourselves. Yet you are not filled with sorrow because Joseph has been destroyed! ⁷ You will be among the first to be taken away as prisoners to a strange land, and your happy times of rest will pass away.

⁸ The Lord God has promised by Himself. The Lord God of All has said, “I hate the pride of Jacob, and I hate his strong-places, so I will give up the city and everything in it.” ⁹ If ten men are left in one house, they will die. ¹⁰ The dead man’s brother, who is to take care of the body, will lift him up to carry his bones from the house. And he will say to the one inside the house, “Is anyone else with you?” That one will say, “No.” Then he will say, “Keep quiet! For the name of the Lord must not be spoken.” ¹¹ For the Lord is going to say that the great house must be broken apart and the small house into pieces.

¹² Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow them with oxen? Yet you have turned what is fair into poison. You have turned what is right and good into something bitter. ¹³ You who have joy in Lo-debar, and say, “Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?” ¹⁴ The Lord God of All says, “I am going to raise up a nation against you, O people of Israel. And they will bring much suffering upon you from the gate of Hamath to the river of the Arabah.”

The Picture-Story of the Man Who Planted Seed ^(A)

⁴ Many people came together from every town to Jesus. He told them a picture-story.

⁵ “A man went out to plant seed. As he planted the seed, some fell by the side of the road. It was walked on and birds came and ate it. ⁶ Some seed fell between rocks. As soon as it started to grow, it dried up because it had no water. ⁷ Some seed fell among thorns. The thorns grew and did not give the seed room to grow. ⁸ Some seed fell on good ground. It grew and gave one hundred times as much grain.” When Jesus had finished saying this, He cried out, “You have ears, then listen!”

⁹ His followers asked Him what this picture-story meant. ¹⁰ Jesus said, “You were given the secrets about the holy nation of God. Others are told picture-stories. As they look, they do not see. As they hear, they do not understand.