Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Asaph wrote this psalm for the music leader. He should use special music.
God, help our nation[a]
8 You pulled us out from Egypt,
like a vine that you dug out of the ground.
You chased nations out of this land,
and you planted us here.[a]
9 You prepared the ground ready for us.
We put down roots like a vine.[b]
We grew well and we covered all the land.
10 Our branches gave shade to the mountains,
and to the big cedar trees.
11 Our branches reached the Mediterranean Sea,
and as far as the Euphrates River.
12 Why have you knocked down the walls
that protected us?[c]
Now, anyone who passes can rob our fruit.
13 Wild pigs from the forest attack your vine.
Other wild animals eat all the fruit.
14 Come back to us, God Almighty!
Look down from heaven
and see what is happening!
Take care of your special vine.
15 You planted it with your own right hand.
You caused it to grow, like a strong son.[d]
16 But now the enemy has cut down your vine,
and they have burned it with fire.
Show them that you are angry with them,
and destroy them!
17 Give strength to the one who sits at your right hand.
He is the man that you have chosen to serve you.[e]
18 Then we will never turn away from you.
Give to us new life and strength,
so that we may always worship you.
19 Lord God Almighty, turn us to come back to you.
Look at us with a smile on your face!
Then we will be safe.
18-23 On that day, the Lord God will take away the beautiful rings that they wear on their ankles. He will remove all the valuable rings and bright stones that they wear on their heads, their necks, their ears, their arms, their fingers and their noses. He will take away their beautiful clothes, their belts, their perfumes and their magic rings.
24 Instead of a nice smell of perfume, there will be a smell of dead animals. Instead of a beautiful belt, they will tie a rope round themselves. Instead of lovely hair, they will be bald. They will wear rough sackcloth instead of beautiful dresses. They will have the mark of a prisoner on their skin, instead of beauty.
25 The men of your city will die in war. Yes, your strong brave men will die in battle.
26 The city's gates will see all this and they will weep! The city will be empty. Zion will be like a poor woman who sits on the ground, completely alone.
4 In that day, seven women will catch one man and they will hold him. They will say, ‘Please take away our shame. We will buy our own food and we will wear our own clothes. But please, let us belong to you.’
Good news
2 In that day, the branch of the Lord will be great and beautiful. The land will give fruit and crops. Those people who remain in Israel will be proud and happy because of the food that the land supplies. 3 Everyone who remains in Zion and Jerusalem will be called holy. All their names will be on a list of Jerusalem's people who live there. 4 At that time, the Lord God will wash away the dirt from Zion's women. He will make Jerusalem clean from the blood that murderers have left. He will do that as judge, and he will punish people as with fire. 5 The Lord himself will be above all of Mount Zion, and over all the people who meet together there. There will be cloud and smoke over them during the day. There will be bright flames of fire at night. The Lord's glory will cover over them all. 6 During the day, it will give people shade from the sun's heat. It will also keep them safe from storms and heavy rain.
15 Long ago, God's prophet Daniel wrote in the Bible about something that would happen. He said that one day people would put a disgusting thing that causes trouble in the temple. You will see it in the holy place. (When you read this, you must understand what it means.) 16 At that time, people in Judea must run away to the hills to hide.
17 A person who is on the roof of his house must not go down into his house.[a] He must not stop to get anything from his home to take with him. 18 People who are outside in their fields must not go back to their homes. They must not even go to fetch their coats. 19 That will be a bad time for women who are soon to have a baby! It will also be a bad time for those women who have little babies! 20 You must pray to God about this time when you have to run away quickly. Pray that this time of trouble will not happen in winter. Pray that it will not happen on your day of rest. 21 Great troubles will happen to people at that time. Nothing as bad has ever happened before, since the beginning of the world. Nothing as bad will ever happen again. 22 God will cause those days of great trouble to be not so many. If he did not do that, there would be nobody still alive. But God will cause those days to come to an end. He will do that to help the people that he has chosen. 23 At that time, someone may say to you, “Look, here is the Messiah.” Or they may say, “There he is!” When they say that, do not believe them. 24 Some people will say to you, “I am the Messiah!” Other people will say, “I am a prophet from God.” But their words will be false. They will do strange and powerful things for people to see. If possible, they would even deceive the people that God has chosen. 25 So be careful! I have told you about these things before they happen.
26 Some people may say to you, “Look, the Messiah is out there in the wilderness.” But do not go out to see who is there. Some people may say to you, “Look, the Messiah is hiding in that secret room.” You must not believe these people. 27 Lightning shines quickly and it lights up the whole of the sky from one side to the other. It will be like that when the Son of Man returns.
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