Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
For the director of music. A psalm of Asaph to the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.”
80 Shepherd of Israel, hear us.
You lead the people of Joseph like a flock.
You sit on your throne between the cherubim.
Show your glory
2 to the people of Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Call your strength into action.
Come and save us.
8 You brought Israel out of Egypt.
Israel was like a vine.
After you drove the nations out of Canaan,
you planted the vine in their land.
9 You prepared the ground for it.
It took root and spread out over the whole land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade.
The shade of its branches covered the mighty cedar trees.
11 Your vine sent its branches out all the way to the Mediterranean Sea.
They reached as far as the Euphrates River.
12 Why have you broken down the walls around your vine?
Now all who pass by it can pick its grapes.
13 Wild pigs from the forest destroy it.
Insects from the fields feed on it.
14 God who rules over all, return to us!
Look down from heaven and see us!
Watch over your vine.
15 Guard the root you have planted with your powerful right hand.
Take care of the branch you have raised up for yourself.
16 Your vine has been cut down and burned in the fire.
You have been angry with us, and we are dying.
17 May you honor the people at your right hand.
May you honor the nation you have raised up for yourself.
18 Then we won’t turn away from you.
Give us new life. We will worship you.
19 Lord God who rules over all, make us new again.
May you be pleased with us.
Then we will be saved.
The Lord Will Judge Jerusalem and Judah
3 Here is what
the Lord who rules over all is about to do.
The Lord will take away from Jerusalem and Judah
supplies and help alike.
He will take away all the supplies of food and water.
2 He’ll take away heroes and soldiers.
He’ll take away judges and prophets.
He’ll take away fortune tellers and elders.
3 He’ll take away captains of groups of 50 men.
He’ll take away government leaders.
He’ll take away advisers, skilled workers
and those who are clever at doing evil magic.
4 The Lord will make mere youths their leaders.
Children will rule over them.
5 People will treat one another badly.
They will fight against one another.
They will fight against their neighbors.
Young people will attack old people.
Ordinary people will attack those who are more important.
6 A man will grab one of his brothers
in his father’s house. He will say,
“You have a coat. So you be our leader.
Take charge of all these broken-down buildings!”
7 But at that time the brother will cry out,
“I can’t help you.
I don’t have any food or clothing in my house.
Don’t make me the leader of these people.”
8 Jerusalem is about to fall.
And so is Judah.
They say and do things against the Lord.
They dare to disobey him to his very face.
9 The look on their faces is a witness against them.
They show off their sin, just as the people of Sodom did.
They don’t even try to hide it.
How terrible it will be for them!
They have brought trouble on themselves.
10 Tell those who do what is right that things will go well with them.
They will enjoy the results of the good things they’ve done.
11 But how terrible it will be for those who do what is evil!
Trouble is about to fall on them.
They will be paid back for the evil things they’ve done.
12 Those who are young treat my people badly.
Women rule over them.
My people, your leaders have taken you down the wrong path.
They have turned you away from the right path.
13 The Lord takes his place in court.
He stands up to judge the people.
14 He judges the elders and leaders of his people.
He says to them,
“My people are like a vineyard.
You have destroyed them.
The things you have taken from poor people are in your houses.
15 What do you mean by crushing my people?
Why are you grinding the faces of the poor into the dirt?”
announces the Lord. He is the Lord who rules over all.
16 The Lord continues,
“The women in Zion are very proud.
They walk along with their noses in the air.
They tease men with their eyes.
They sway their hips as they walk along.
Little chains jingle on their ankles.
17 So I will put sores on the heads of Zion’s women.
And I will remove the hair from their heads.”
32 Remember those earlier days after you received the light. You remained strong in a great battle that was full of suffering. 33 Sometimes people spoke badly about you in front of others. Sometimes you were treated badly. At other times you stood side by side with people being treated like this. 34 You suffered along with people in prison. When your property was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew that God had given you better and more lasting things. 35 So don’t throw away your bold faith. It will bring you rich rewards.
36 You need to be faithful. Then you will do what God wants. You will receive what he has promised.
37 “In just a little while,
he who is coming will come.
He will not wait any longer.”
38 And,
“The one who is right with God will live by faith.
And I am not pleased with
the one who pulls back.” (Habakkuk 2:3,4)
39 But we don’t belong to the people who pull back and are destroyed. We belong to the people who believe and are saved.
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