Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A Prayer for the Nation

74 O God, why have You turned away from us forever? Why does Your anger burn against the sheep in Your fields? ² Remember Your people that You bought a long time ago. You made them free to be the family of Your promise, and Mount Zion, where You have lived. ³ Turn Your steps toward this place that has been destroyed forever. Those who hate You have destroyed all that is in the holy place. ⁴ Those who hate You have called out in the center of Your meeting place. They have set up their flags to show that they have won. ⁵ They acted like men taking up axes against a group of trees. ⁶ All of its fine work has been broken with axes and sticks. ⁷ They have burned Your holy place to the dust. They have made dirty the house of Your name. ⁸ They said in their hearts, “Let us destroy all of these places!” They have burned all the meeting places where God was worshiped in the land. ⁹ We do not see any special things happening. There is no longer anyone who speaks for God. And none of us knows how long this will be. ¹⁰ O God, how long will those who hate You laugh at the truth? Will they speak against Your name forever? ¹¹ Why do You take Your hand away, even Your right hand? Put it out and destroy them!

¹² God is still my King from long ago. He does saving works upon the earth. ¹³ You divided the sea by Your power. You broke the heads of the large dragons in the waters. ¹⁴ You crushed the heads of the Leviathan. And You fed him to the animals of the desert. ¹⁵ It was You Who opened up the earth for water to flow out. And You dried up rivers that flow forever. ¹⁶ The day is Yours. And the night is Yours. You have set the light and the sun in their places. ¹⁷ You have divided all the lands and seas and nations of the earth. You have made summer and winter.

¹⁸ Remember how those who hate You have laughed at the truth, O Lord. Foolish people have spoken against Your name. ¹⁹ Do not give the life of Your dove over to the wild animal. Do not forget the lives of Your troubled people forever. ²⁰ Think about Your agreement. For the dark places of the land are full of fighting. ²¹ Do not let those who suffer under a bad power return without honor. Let those who suffer and those who are in need praise Your name.

²² Rise up, O God. Stand up for Your rights. Remember how the foolish man speaks against You all day long. ²³ Do not forget the voice of those who hate You, the noise that comes without stopping from those who rise against You.

Israel Set Free

27 In that day the Lord will punish Leviathan, the large snake-like sea animal, with His sharp and great and powerful sword. He will punish Leviathan the turning snake, and kill the big dragon that lives in the sea.

² In that day it will be said: “Sing about a grape-field of wine! ³ I, the Lord, am its keeper. I water it all the time. I watch over it day and night so no one will hurt it. ⁴ I am not angry. If someone were to give Me thistles and thorns in battle, I would step on them. I would burn them together. ⁵ Or let him trust in Me to keep him safe. Let him make peace with Me. Yes, let him make peace with Me.” ⁶ In the days to come Jacob will take root. Israel will flower and begin to grow, and fill the whole world with fruit.

⁷ Has the Lord punished Israel as He punished those who went against Israel? Or have as many people of Israel been killed as their killers were killed? ⁸ You showed Your anger towards them by driving them out of the land. You moved them out with Your strong wind on the day of the east wind. ⁹ So by this Jacob’s sin will be forgiven. This will be the full price of taking his sin away: When he crushes all the altar stones into fine pieces, so the wooden female goddess Asherah and the altars of special perfume will not stand. ¹⁰ The city made strong for battle is empty and alone, a place left alone like the desert. The calves eat there, and they lie down and eat from its branches. ¹¹ When its branches are dry, they are broken off. Women come and make a fire with them. They are not a people of understanding, so their Maker will not have pity on them. The One Who made them will not show kindness to them.

¹² In that day the Lord will beat out His grain from the flowing river of the Euphrates to the river of Egypt. And you will be gathered up one by one, O sons of Israel. ¹³ In that day a great horn will be blown. Those who were dying in the land of Assyria and those who were sent everywhere through the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

Jesus Stops the Buying and Selling in the House of God ^(A)

⁴⁵ Jesus went into the house of God. He made those leave who were buying and selling there. ⁴⁶ He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer.’ ‘But you have made it a place of robbers.’” ^(B)

⁴⁷ Jesus taught each day in the house of God. But the religious leaders and the teachers of the Law and other leaders of the people tried to think of some way they could kill Him. ⁴⁸ They could not find a way because the people were always near Him listening to Him teach.