Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The sons of Korah wrote this psalm for the music leader.
A prayer for peace[a]
85 Lord, you have blessed your land.
You have made Jacob's descendants strong again.[b]
2 You forgave your people's sins.
You took away their guilt.
Selah
3 You stopped being so angry with them.
You did not punish them any more.
4 But now turn back to us,
and make us strong again, God.
You are the one who rescues us.
Please stop being angry with us.
5 Will you continue to be angry with us for ever?
Will you be angry with our children too?
6 Please turn back to us
and give us new life!
Then your people will be happy
and they will praise you.
7 Lord, show us again your faithful love!
Please rescue us!
8 Now I will listen to what the Lord God says.
He will give peace to his people,
to those who serve him.
But they must not turn back
to do foolish things again.
9 Yes, God will soon rescue his people who serve him.
Then we will see his glory again in our land.
10 God will be faithful to us
and he will love us with his faithful love.
His justice and his peace will join together,
like dear friends.
11 Faithful truth will grow like a plant in the ground.
Justice will look down from the sky above.[c]
12 Yes! The Lord will bless us with many good things.
Plenty of food will grow in our land.
13 Justice will go before our God,
and it will make a way for him to walk on.
God will punish Israel and Judah for their sins
5 ‘Listen to this, you priests! Listen carefully, you Israelites! Listen, you people of the royal family! You are guilty and you deserve punishment. You have caused trouble for people with your trap at Mizpah. You have caught people in your net at Tabor mountain.[a] 2 People have turned against me and they have murdered many people. So I will warn them all and I will punish them.
3 I know what the people of Ephraim are like.[b] The Israelites cannot hide their sins from me. You are no better than prostitutes! You can no longer serve me as my people. 4 Yes, the sins of the Israelites do not allow them to return to me, the Lord their God. They are not faithful to me and they love to worship idols. They do not want to know me. 5 The Israelites are proud of what they do, and that shows that they are guilty. Their sins cause them to fall into great trouble. That will happen to the people of Israel and Ephraim. And the people of Judah will fall with them.
6 They take their sheep and cows to offer as sacrifices to the Lord. They want the Lord to help them, but he does not answer them. They cannot find him because he has gone away from them. 7 They have turned against the Lord. Their children do not belong to him. They enjoy the new moon feast. But that will soon destroy them and the crops in their fields.’
War between Judah and Israel
8 ‘Make a noise with your horns in Gibeah!
Make a noise with your trumpets in Ramah!
Warn the people in Beth Aven of danger!
Men of Benjamin's tribe, prepare to fight![c]
9 The day for Ephraim's punishment will soon come.
That will be the end of them!
I make this promise to all the tribes of Israel.
It will certainly happen!
10 The leaders of Judah are not honest.
They are like people who move the stones that show the edge of their land.
So I will punish them with my strong anger.[d]
11 Terrible trouble will come to Ephraim's people.
They will receive great punishment.
They deserve that because they chose to worship idols.
12 I will destroy the people of Ephraim,
as a moth eats cloth.
I will also destroy the people of Judah,
as ants destroy wood.
13 Ephraim's people knew that they were not well.
Judah's people knew that they had wounds.
Ephraim's leaders expected Assyria to help them.
They asked Assyria's great king for help.
But he is not able to make you well.[e]
He cannot make your wounds better.
14 I will attack Ephraim's people like a lion.
I will also attack Judah's people like a young lion.
I myself will tear them into pieces.
I will carry them away.
Nobody will be able to rescue them.
15 Then I will return to my place.
I will leave them to receive their full punishment.
When they have suffered enough, they will turn back to me.
They will want to serve me again.’
22 Peter then said, ‘People of Israel, listen to what I am saying! Jesus, the man from Nazareth, came with God's authority to do his work. God did many powerful and special things through him. These miracles showed you clearly that God had sent him. You know about all this. These things happened here, and you saw them. 23 God knew that Jesus' enemies would give him to you. God had decided that this should happen. You let people who do not obey God's Law fix him to the cross. In that way you killed him. 24 But after his death, God caused him to become alive again. God saved Jesus from the power of death. It was impossible for death to keep hold of him. 25 A long time ago, King David spoke about the Messiah in this way:
“I saw the Lord near me all the time.
He is next to me, on my right side,
so nothing will cause me trouble.
26 Because of this, I am very happy,
and I will praise you, God.
I am human and one day I will die,
but I know that you will help me while I live.
27 When I die, you will not leave me in Hades, the place for dead people.
You will not let anything destroy the body of your Holy One.
28 You have shown me the paths that lead to life with you.
I will be completely happy because you will be with me for ever.” ’[a]
29 Peter then said, ‘Friends, people of Israel, I must speak clearly to you about our ancestor, King David. He died and people buried his body in the ground. You can still see the place where people buried him. 30 He was a prophet. He knew what God had promised to do for him. He knew that one of his descendants would be king of God's people one day. 31 David understood what God would do in a future time. He did not speak about himself, but he spoke about the Messiah. He said that God would cause this man to become alive again after his death. God would not let him remain in Hades, the place for dead people. Nothing would destroy his body. 32 This man that David talked about is Jesus. After his death, God caused him to become alive again. We ourselves saw this happen. All of us saw it. 33 God took Jesus back up to heaven. He caused Jesus to sit at his right side, the place of great honour. Jesus received the Holy Spirit from his Father God, so that he could give the Spirit to us. This is what God had promised to do. God has poured his Holy Spirit on us. Now you are seeing and hearing the result of this. 34 King David himself did not go up into heaven like Jesus did. But David said:
“The Lord God said to my Lord:
Sit at my right side until I beat your enemies completely.
35 Then you will be able to put your feet on them.”[b]
36 So all you people of Israel must be sure to know this: It is this same Jesus that God has chosen to be the Messiah. God has made him to be our Lord. But you fixed him to a cross and you killed him.’
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