Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A Prayer of an Old Man

71 I have a safe place in you, O Lord. Let me never be ashamed. ² Because You are right and good, take me out of trouble. Turn Your ear to me and save me. ³ Be a rock to me where I live, where I may always come and where I will be safe. For You are my rock and my safe place. ⁴ O my God, take me from the hand of the sinful, from the hand of the wrong-doer and the man without pity. ⁵ For You are my hope, O Lord God. You are my trust since I was young. ⁶ You have kept me safe from birth. It was You Who watched over me from the day I was born. My praise is always of You.

Armies around Jerusalem

6 “Run away to be safe, O sons of Benjamin! Run from Jerusalem! Blow the horn in Tekoa, and light a fire in Beth-haccerem. For a sinful power is coming down from the north, that will destroy much. ² I will cut off the beautiful and fine ones, the people of Zion. ³ Shepherds and their flocks will come to her. They will set up their tents around her and feed their flocks there, each in his place. ⁴ Make war against her. Rise up, let us go and fight her at noon. It is bad for us, for the day is passing! The shadows of the evening are longer! ⁵ Rise up, let us go and fight in the night and destroy her strong houses!” ⁶ For the Lord of All says, “Cut down her trees, and build a battle-wall against Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished. There is nothing but a sinful power that makes hard times for others within her. ⁷ As a well keeps its water good for drinking, so Jerusalem keeps going on in her sin. The sounds of those who fight and those who destroy are heard in her. Sickness and sorrow are always before Me. ⁸ Listen about the danger, O Jerusalem, or I will become a stranger to you. I will make you a waste, a land with no people.”

Israel Will Not Listen

⁹ The Lord of All says, “They will gather all the people of Israel who are left like gathering from the vine. Pass your hand over the branches again like one who gathers grapes.” ¹⁰ Whom should I tell of the danger, that they may hear? See, their ears are closed and they cannot listen. They have become ashamed of the Word of the Lord. They have no joy in it. ¹¹ But I am full of the anger of the Lord. I am tired of holding it in. “Pour it out on the children in the street, and on the young men gathered together. For both husband and wife will be taken, the old and those who have lived a very long time. ¹² Their houses, their fields and their wives will be given to others. I will put out My hand against the people of the land,” says the Lord. ¹³ “For from the least to the greatest of them, every one is always wanting something. And from the man of God to the religious leader, every one lies to get what he wants. ¹⁴ They have healed the hurt of My people only a little, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. ¹⁵ Were they ashamed because of the sinful things they had done? No, they were not ashamed at all. They did not even know how to turn red. So they will fall among those who fall. When I punish them, they will be brought down,” says the Lord.

Israel Will Not Go God’s Way

¹⁶ The Lord says, “Stand by where the roads cross, and look. Ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it. And you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ ¹⁷ I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the horn!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen.’ ¹⁸ So hear, O nations, and know, O people, what will happen to them. ¹⁹ Hear, O earth. See, I am bringing much trouble upon these people. It is the fruit of their plans, because they have not listened to My words. And they have turned away from My law.

³ Sinful men spoke words of hate against Christ. He was willing to take such shame from sinners. Think of this so you will not get tired and give up. ⁴ In your fight against sin, you have not yet had to stand against sin with your blood. ⁵ Do you remember what God said to you when He called you His sons? “My son, listen when the Lord punishes you. Do not give up when He tells you what you must do. ⁶ The Lord punishes everyone He loves. He whips every son He receives.” ^{(A) 7} Do not give up when you are punished by God. Be willing to take it, knowing that God is teaching you as a son. Is there a father who does not punish his son sometimes? ⁸ If you are not punished as all sons are, it means that you are not a true son of God. You are not a part of His family and He is not your Father. ⁹ Remember that our fathers on earth punished us. We had respect for them. How much more should we obey our Father in heaven and live? ¹⁰ For a little while our fathers on earth punished us when they thought they should. But God punishes us for our good so we will be holy as He is holy. ¹¹ There is no joy while we are being punished. It is hard to take, but later we can see that good came from it. And it gives us the peace of being right with God.

¹² So lift up your hands that have been weak. Stand up on your weak legs. ¹³ Walk straight ahead so the weak leg will not be turned aside, but will be healed.

¹⁴ Be at peace with all men. Live a holy life. No one will see the Lord without having that kind of life. ¹⁵ See that no one misses God’s loving-favor. Do not let wrong thoughts about others get started among you. If you do, many people will be turned to a life of sin. ¹⁶ None of you should fall into sex sins or forget God like Esau did. He had a right to get all Isaac had because he was the oldest son. But for one plate of food he sold this right to his brother. ¹⁷ You know that later he would have received everything. But he did not get it even when he asked for it with tears. It was too late to make right the wrong he had done.