Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
71 Lord, I have gone to you for safety.
Let me never be put to shame.
2 You do what is right, so save me and help me.
Pay attention to me and save me.
3 Be my rock of safety
that I can always go to.
Give the command to save me.
You are my rock and my fort.
4 My God, save me from the power of sinners.
Save me from the hands of those who are mean and evil.
5 You are the King and the Lord. You have always been my hope.
I have trusted in you ever since I was young.
6 From the time I was born I have depended on you.
You brought me out of my mother’s body.
I will praise you forever.
The Babylonians Will Attack Jerusalem
6 The Lord says, “People of Benjamin, run for safety!
Run away from Jerusalem!
Blow trumpets in the city of Tekoa!
Warn everyone in Beth Hakkerem!
Horrible trouble is coming from the north.
The Babylonians will destroy everything with awful power.
2 I will destroy the city of Zion,
even though it is very beautiful.
3 Shepherds will come against it with their flocks.
They will set up their tents around it.
All of them will take care of their own sheep.”
4 The Babylonians say, “Prepare for battle against Judah!
Get up! Let’s attack them at noon!
But the daylight is fading.
The shadows of evening are getting longer.
5 So get up! Let’s attack them at night!
Let’s destroy their strongest forts!”
6 The Lord who rules over all speaks to the Babylonians. He says,
“Cut down some trees.
Use the wood to build ramps against Jerusalem’s walls.
I must punish that city.
It is filled with people who treat others badly.
7 Wells keep giving fresh water.
And Jerusalem keeps on sinning.
Its people are always fighting and causing trouble.
When I look at them,
I see nothing but sickness and wounds.
8 Jerusalem, listen to my warning.
If you do not, I will turn away from you.
Your land will become a desert.
No one will be able to live there.”
9 The Lord rules over all. He says to me,
“People gather the few grapes left on a vine.
So let Israel’s enemies gather the few people left alive in the land
Look carefully at the branches again.
Do this like someone who gathers the last few grapes.”
10 Who can I speak to? Who can I warn?
Who will even listen to me?
Their ears are closed
so they can’t hear.
The Lord’s message displeases them.
They don’t take any delight in it.
11 But the Lord’s anger burns inside me.
I can no longer hold it in.
The Lord says to me, “Pour out my anger on the children in the street.
Pour it out on the young men who are gathered together.
Husband and wife alike will be caught in it.
So will those who are very old.
12 I will reach out my hand
against those who live in the land,”
announces the Lord.
“Then their houses will be turned over to others.
So will their fields and their wives.
13 Everyone wants to get richer and richer,
from the least important of them to the most important.
Prophets and priests alike
try to fool everyone they can.
14 They bandage the wounds of my people
as if they were not very deep.
‘Peace, peace,’ they say.
But there isn’t any peace.
15 Are they ashamed of their hateful actions?
No. They do not feel any shame at all.
They do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall like others who have already fallen.
They will be brought down when I punish them,”
says the Lord.
16 The Lord tells the people of Judah,
“Stand where the roads cross, and look around.
Ask where the old paths are.
Ask for the good path, and walk on it.
Then your hearts will find rest in me.
But you said, ‘We won’t walk on it.’
17 I appointed prophets to warn you. I said,
‘Listen to the sound of the trumpets!’
But you said, ‘We won’t listen.’
18 So pay attention, you nations.
You are witnesses for me.
Watch what will happen to my people.
19 Earth, pay attention.
I am going to bring trouble on them.
I will punish them because of the evil things they have done.
They have not listened to my words.
They have said no to my law.
3 He made it through these attacks by sinners. So think about him. Then you won’t get tired. You won’t lose hope.
God Trains His Children
4 You struggle against sin. But you have not yet fought to the point of spilling your blood. 5 Have you completely forgotten this word of hope? It speaks to you as a father to his children. It says,
“My son, think of the Lord’s training as important.
Do not lose hope when he corrects you.
6 The Lord trains the one he loves.
He corrects everyone he accepts as his son.” (Proverbs 3:11,12)
7 Put up with hard times. God uses them to train you. He is treating you as his children. What children are not trained by their parents? 8 God trains all his children. But what if he doesn’t train you? Then you are not really his children. You are not God’s true sons and daughters at all. 9 Besides, we have all had human fathers who trained us. We respected them for it. How much more should we be trained by the Father of spirits and live! 10 Our parents trained us for a little while. They did what they thought was best. But God trains us for our good. He does this so we may share in his holiness. 11 No training seems pleasant at the time. In fact, it seems painful. But later on it produces a harvest of godliness and peace. It does this for those who have been trained by it.
12 So put your hands to work. Strengthen your legs for the journey. 13 “Make level paths for your feet to walk on.” (Proverbs 4:26) Then those who have trouble walking won’t be disabled. Instead, they will be healed.
A Warning and an Appeal
14 Try your best to live in peace with everyone. Try hard to be holy. Without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 Be sure that no one misses out on God’s grace. See to it that a bitter plant doesn’t grow up. If it does, it will cause trouble. And it will make many people impure. 16 See to it that no one commits sexual sins. See to it that no one is godless like Esau. He sold the rights to what he would receive as the oldest son. He sold them for a single meal. 17 As you know, after that he wanted to receive his father’s blessing. But he was turned away. With tears he tried to get the blessing. But he couldn’t change what he had done.
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