Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 80
For the Music Director. To the melody of “Lilies of the Testimony.” A Psalm of Asaph.
1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
You who lead Joseph like a flock;
You who are enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth.
2 In the sight of Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
stir up Your strength,
and come and rescue us.
8 You have brought a vine out of Egypt;
You have cast out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shadow
and the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 It sent out its branches to the sea
and its shoots to the River.
12 Why have You then broken down its walls,
so that all those who pass by the way pluck its fruit?
13 The boar from the woods ravages it,
and the insects of the field devour it.
14 Return again, O God of Hosts;
look down from heaven, and behold,
have regard for this vine
15 and the root that Your right hand has planted,
and the shoots that You made strong for Yourself.
16 It is burned with fire; it is cut down;
may they perish at the rebuke from Your presence.
17 Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.
18 So we will not turn back from You;
give us life, and we will call upon Your name.
19 Restore us again, O Lord God of Hosts;
cause Your face to shine,
and we shall be delivered.
Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem
3 For now the Lord,
the Lord of Hosts,
takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah
the stock and the store,
the whole supply of bread, and the whole supply of water;
2 the mighty man and the man of war,
the judge and the prophet,
and the prudent and the ancient,
3 the captain of fifty and the honorable man,
the counselor and the skillful artisan, and the eloquent orator.
4 I will give youths to be their princes,
and unweaned children shall rule over them.
5 The people shall be oppressed,
every one by another, and every one by his neighbor;
the youth shall behave himself proudly against the elder,
and the inferior against the honorable.
6 When a man shall take hold of his brother
in the house of his father saying,
“You have clothing; be our ruler,
and let this ruin be under your power,”
7 in that day he shall swear saying,
“I will not be a healer.
For in my house is neither bread nor clothing;
do not make me a ruler of the people.”
8 For Jerusalem is ruined,
and Judah is fallen,
because their tongue and their deeds are against the Lord,
to provoke the eyes of His glory.
9 The expression of their countenance witnesses against them,
and they declare their sin as Sodom;
they hide it not.
Woe to them!
For they have brought evil on themselves.
10 Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them,
for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.
11 Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him,
for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
12 As for My people, children are their oppressors,
and women rule over them.
O My people, those who lead you cause you to err,
and destroy the way of your paths.
13 The Lord stands up to plead
and stands to judge the people.
14 The Lord will enter into judgment
with the elders and the princes of His people:
For you have eaten up the vineyard;
the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
15 What do you mean that you beat My people to pieces
and grind the faces of the poor?
says the Lord God of Hosts.
16 Moreover the Lord says:
Because the daughters of Zion are haughty
and walk with outstretched necks
and wanton eyes,
walking and mincing as they go,
and making a tinkling with their feet,
17 therefore, the Lord will strike with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion,
and the Lord will make their foreheads bare.
32 Remember the former days, after you were enlightened, in which you endured a great struggle of afflictions. 33 In part you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and afflictions. And in part you became companions of those who were so abused. 34 For you had compassion on me in my chains and joyfully endured the confiscation of your property, knowing that you have in heaven a better and an enduring possession for yourselves. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which will be greatly rewarded.
36 For you need patience, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive the promise. 37 For,
“In yet a little while,
He who is to come will come, and will not wait.
38 Now the just shall live by faith;
but if anyone draws back,
My soul shall have no pleasure in him.”[a]
39 But we are not of those who draw back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the saving of the soul.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.