Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 60(A)
For the Music Director. A Miktam of David to teach. To the melody of “Lily of the Testimony,” when he struggled with Aram Naharaim and with Aram Zobah and when Joab returned from striking down twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
1 O God, You have rejected us, You have scattered us;
You have been displeased; take us back.
2 You have made the earth tremble; You have split it open;
heal its breaches, for it shook.
3 You have shown Your people hard times;
You have made us drink wine, causing us to stagger.
4 You have given a banner to those who fear You,
that they may flee to it from the bow.[a] Selah
5 That Your beloved ones may be delivered,
save with Your right hand and answer us.
6 God has spoken in His holiness:
“I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem,
and measure out the Valley of Sukkoth.
7 Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim also is My helmet;
Judah is My scepter;
8 Moab is My wash basin;
over Edom I will cast My shoe;
shout the alarm, O Philistia, because of Me.”
9 Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who will lead me into Edom?
10 You, O God, have You not cast us off?
And You, O God, did not go out with our armies.
11 Give us help from trouble,
for the help of man is worthless.
12 Through God we will do valiantly,
for He will tread down our enemies.
God’s Charge Against Ephraim
12 Ephraim has surrounded Me with lies,
and the house of Israel with deceit.
But Judah still walks with God,
and is faithful to the Holy One.[a]
12 Ephraim feeds on the wind
and chases after the east wind all day long.
He multiplies lies and devastation.
They make a covenant with Assyria,
and oil is carried to Egypt.
A History of Rebellion
2 The Lord has a dispute with Judah,
and will punish Jacob according to his ways,
and repay him according to his doings.
3 In the womb, he took his brother by the heel,
and by his strength he strove with God.
4 He struggled with the angel, and prevailed;
he wept, and sought favor from Him.
He found Him in Bethel,
and there He spoke with us.
5 As for the Lord the God of Hosts,
the Lord is the name by which He is invoked!
6 But as for you, return to your God,
hold fast to mercy and justice,
and wait on your God continually.
7 A merchant, in whose hands are deceitful balances,
he loves to oppress.
8 Ephraim said,
“Yet I am rich, I have found wealth for myself.
In all my labors, they shall find no offense in me
that would be sin.”
9 I am the Lord your God
from the land of Egypt.
I will again make you to dwell in tents,
as in the days of the appointed feast.
10 I have spoken by the prophets,
and I have multiplied visions,
and through the prophets I will bring destruction.[b]
11 In Gilead there is iniquity;
surely they will come to nothing.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
so their altars will be like stone heaps
in the furrows of the fields.
12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram,
and Israel served for a wife,
and for a wife he kept sheep.
13 By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,
and by a prophet he was preserved.
14 Ephraim provoked Him to anger most bitterly,
so his Lord shall leave his bloodguilt on him
and repay him for his reproach.
Social Duties of the New Life
18 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands, as it is fitting in the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be bitter toward them.
20 Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.
21 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.
22 Servants, obey your masters in all things according to the flesh, serving not only when they are watching, as the servants of men, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. 23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. For you serve the Lord Christ. 25 But he who does wrong will receive for the wrong which he has done, and there is no partiality.
4 Masters, give to your servants that which is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.