Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 79
A psalm of Asaph.
1 O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance;(A)
they have defiled(B) your holy temple,
they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.(C)
2 They have left the dead bodies of your servants
as food for the birds of the sky,(D)
the flesh of your own people for the animals of the wild.(E)
3 They have poured out blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there is no one to bury(F) the dead.(G)
4 We are objects of contempt to our neighbors,
of scorn(H) and derision to those around us.(I)
14 Why are we sitting here?
Gather together!
Let us flee to the fortified cities(A)
and perish there!
For the Lord our God has doomed us to perish
and given us poisoned water(B) to drink,
because we have sinned(C) against him.
15 We hoped for peace(D)
but no good has come,
for a time of healing
but there is only terror.(E)
16 The snorting of the enemy’s horses(F)
is heard from Dan;(G)
at the neighing of their stallions
the whole land trembles.(H)
They have come to devour(I)
the land and everything in it,
the city and all who live there.
2 Oh, that I had in the desert(A)
a lodging place for travelers,
so that I might leave my people
and go away from them;
for they are all adulterers,(B)
a crowd of unfaithful(C) people.
3 “They make ready their tongue
like a bow, to shoot lies;(D)
it is not by truth
that they triumph[a] in the land.
They go from one sin to another;
they do not acknowledge(E) me,”
declares the Lord.
4 “Beware of your friends;(F)
do not trust anyone in your clan.(G)
For every one of them is a deceiver,[b](H)
and every friend a slanderer.(I)
5 Friend deceives friend,(J)
and no one speaks the truth.(K)
They have taught their tongues to lie;(L)
they weary themselves with sinning.
6 You[c] live in the midst of deception;(M)
in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”
declares the Lord.
7 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says:
“See, I will refine(N) and test(O) them,
for what else can I do
because of the sin of my people?
8 Their tongue(P) is a deadly arrow;
it speaks deceitfully.
With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors,(Q)
but in their hearts they set traps(R) for them.(S)
9 Should I not punish them for this?”
declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge(T) myself
on such a nation as this?”
The Widow’s Offering(A)
41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put(B) and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”(C)
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