Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
An Appeal from God to Israel
For the music director; on the Gittith. Of Asaph.[a]
81 Shout out to God our strength;
shout joyfully to the God of Jacob.
10 I am Yahweh your God,
who brought you up from the land of Egypt.
Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.
11 But my people did not listen to my voice,
and Israel did not yield to me.
12 So I let them[a] go in the stubbornness of their heart;
they walked in their counsels.
13 Oh that my people would listen to me;
that Israel would walk in my ways.
14 I would subdue their enemies quickly,
and turn my hand against their adversaries.
15 Those who hate Yahweh would cringe before him,
and their fate[b] would be forever.
16 But he would feed him[c] from the choicest wheat,[d]
and I would satisfy you with honey from a rock.”
Jeremiah’s Complaint
12 You will be in the right, O Yahweh, when I complain to you.
Even so, let me speak my claims with you.
Why does the way of the wicked succeed?
All those who deal treacherously with treachery are at ease.
2 Not only do you plant them, they take root.
They grow, but also they produce fruit.
You are near in their mouths,
but far from their inmost beings.[a]
3 But you, O Yahweh, you know me,
you see me, and you test that my heart is with you.
Tear them apart like sheep for the slaughtering,
and set them apart for the day of slaughter.
4 How long[b] will the land mourn, and the vegetation of every field dry up,
because of the wickedness of those who live in it?
The animals and the birds[c] are swept away,
because they have said, “He does not see our future.”
The Lord’s Reply
5 “If you run with foot soldiers and they have made you weary,
then how will you compete with horses?
If you have fallen in a peaceful land,[d]
then how will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?
6 For even your relatives, and the house of your father,
even they have dealt treacherously with you,
even they call loudly[e] after you.
You must not trust in them, though they speak kindly to you.
7 I have forsaken my house, I have abandoned my inheritance.
I have given the beloved one of my heart[f] into the hand of her enemies.
8 My inheritance has become to me like a lion in the forest.
She has lifted up against me her voice; therefore[g] I hate her.
9 The lair of the hyena is my inheritance to me,
the birds of prey[h] are all around her.
Go, gather all of the animals[i] of the field,
bring them to come and devour.[j]
10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard,
they have trampled down my plot of land.
They have made my pleasant field[k]
like the desert[l] of desolation.
11 They have made it a desolation.
Desolate, it mourns to me.
All the land is made desolate,
but there is no person taking it to heart.
12 Upon all the barren heights in the desert[m] destroyers have come,
for the sword of Yahweh devours,
from one end of the land to the other end of the land,
there is no peace for all flesh.
13 They have sown wheat and they have reaped thorns.
They are exhausted, they do not profit.
And they will be ashamed of your produce,
because of the burning anger[n] of Yahweh.”
Serving to the Glory of God
7 Now the end of all things draws near. Therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for your prayers. 8 Above all, keep[a] your love for one another constant, because love covers a large number of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10 Just as each one has received a gift, use it for serving one another, as good stewards of the varied grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, let it be as the oracles of God; if anyone serves, let it be as by the strength that God provides, so that in all things God will be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom is the glory and the power forever and ever[b]. Amen.
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