Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God Wants True Worship
A psalm of Asaph [C a Levitical musician, a descendant of Gershon, at the time of David; 1 Chr. 6:39; 15:17; 2 Chr. 5:12].
50 The God of gods, the Lord, speaks.
He ·calls [proclaims to; summons] the earth from the rising to the setting sun.
2 God shines from ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple],
·whose beauty is perfect [L the perfection of beauty; 48:2; Lam. 2:15].
3 Our God comes, and he will not be silent.
A fire ·burns [consumes] in front of him [Heb. 12:29],
and a ·powerful storm [whirlwind; tempest] surrounds him [Is. 66:15].
4 He ·calls to [summons] the ·sky [heavens] above and to the earth
that he might judge his people.
5 He says, “Gather around, you ·who worship me [holy ones; saints],
who have made an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with me, using a sacrifice [Ex. 24:5–8].”
6 God is the judge,
and even the ·skies say he is right [heavens proclaim his righteousness]. ·
7 God says, “My people, listen to me;
Israel, I will ·testify [witness] against you.
I am God, your God.
8 I do not ·scold [reprimand; rebuke] you for your sacrifices.
You always bring me your burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17].
22 “·Think about [Understand] this, you who forget God.
Otherwise, I will tear you apart,
and no one will ·save [protect] you.
23 Those people ·honor [glorify] me
who bring me ·offerings to show thanks [thank offerings; v. 14].
And I, God, will save those who ·do that [L go on my way/path].”
God’s Case Against His Children
2 Listen, heavens, and pay attention, earth [L witnesses of the covenant; Deut. 30:19],
because the Lord is speaking:
“I raised ·my children [or sons; C the nation Israel] and ·helped them grow [brought them] up,
but they have ·turned [rebelled] against me.
3 An ox knows its ·master [owner],
and a donkey knows ·where its owner feeds it [L the feeding trough/crib of its owner/master],
but the people of Israel do not know me;
my people do not understand.”
4 ·How terrible [Woe; Alas]! ·Israel is a nation of sin [L Sinful nation!],
a people ·loaded [weighed] down with guilt,
·a group of children [offspring; brood; seed] ·doing evil [or born from evildoers],
·children [or sons] who ·are full of evil [act corruptly; are depraved].
They have ·left [abandoned; forsaken] the Lord;
they ·hate [despise; or have rejected/spurned] the Holy One of Israel [C Isaiah’s favorite title for God],
and have ·turned away [become alienated/estranged] from him.
5 Why ·should you continue to be [or do you insist on being] ·punished [battered; struck down]?
Why do you continue to ·turn against him [rebel]?
Your whole head is ·hurt [bruised; wounded],
and your whole heart is ·sick [faint; weak].
6 There is no ·healthy spot [soundness]
from the ·bottom [sole] of your foot to the top of your head;
you are covered with ·wounds [bruises], ·hurts [sores; welts], and ·open sores [raw/infected wounds]
that are not ·cleaned [L pressed out] and ·covered [bandaged],
·and no medicine takes away the pain [L not soothed/softened with oil].
7 Your land is ·ruined [desolate];
your cities have been burned with fire.
·While you watch [Right in front of you],
·your enemies [L foreigners; strangers] ·are stealing everything from [destroy; devour] your ·land [fields; crops];
it is ruined like a country ·destroyed [overthrown] by ·enemies [L foreigners; strangers].
8 Jerusalem [L Daughter Zion; C the location of the Temple] is left alone
like an ·empty shelter [or watchman’s hut] in a vineyard,
like a ·hut [shelter] left in a field of ·melons [or cucumbers],
like a city ·surrounded by enemies [besieged].
9 If the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]
had not ·allowed a few of our people to live [left us a few survivors],
we would have been like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah [C completely destroyed; Gen. 19].
Jerusalem Is Not Loyal to God
21 [L See how; or How…!] The ·city of Jerusalem once followed the Lord [L faithful city],
·but she is no longer loyal to him [L …has become a prostitute/whore; C a metaphor for spiritual treachery].
She used to be filled with ·fairness [justice];
·people there lived the way God wanted [Righteousness/Justice lived/lodged there; C personification].
But now, murderers live there.
22 ·Jerusalem, you have become like the scum left when silver is purified [L Your silver has become dross/scum];
you are like ·wine [beer; alcohol; L drink] ·mixed [diluted; weakened] with water.
23 Your ·rulers [princes] are rebels
and ·friends [companions; associates] of thieves.
They all ·accept money for doing wrong [L love bribes],
and they ·are paid to cheat people [pursue rewards/gifts].
They don’t ·seek justice for [defend the cause of] the ·orphans [fatherless]
or ·listen to the widows’ needs [or defend the widows’ rights; L the widows’ disputes do not come before them].
God Is More Important than Money(A)
19 “Don’t store treasures for yourselves here on earth where moths and rust will destroy them and thieves can break in and steal them. 20 But store ·your [for yourselves] treasures in heaven where they cannot be destroyed by moths or rust and where thieves cannot break in and steal them. 21 Your heart will be where your treasure is.
22 “The eye is ·a light [L the lamp] for the body. If your eyes are ·good [healthy; clear], your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are ·evil [unhealthy; bad], your whole body will be full of darkness. And if the ·only light you have [or light you think you have; L light in you] is really darkness, then ·you have the worst darkness [how great that darkness is!].
24 “No one can serve two ·masters [lords]. The person will hate one master and love the other, or will ·follow [be devoted/loyal to] one master and ·refuse to follow [despise] the other. You cannot serve both God and ·worldly riches [money; L mammon].
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