Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 79[a]
A psalm of Asaph.
79 O God, foreigners[b] have invaded your chosen land;[c]
they have polluted your holy temple
and turned Jerusalem into a heap of ruins.
2 They have given the corpses of your servants
to the birds of the sky,[d]
the flesh of your loyal followers
to the beasts of the earth.
3 They have made their blood flow like water
all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them.[e]
4 We have become an object of disdain to our neighbors;
those who live on our borders taunt and insult us.[f]
5 How long will this go on, O Lord?[g]
Will you stay angry forever?
How long will your rage[h] burn like fire?
6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you,[i]
on the kingdoms that do not pray to you.[j]
7 For they have devoured Jacob
and destroyed his home.
8 Do not hold us accountable for the sins of earlier generations.[k]
Quickly send your compassion our way,[l]
for we are in serious trouble.[m]
9 Help us, O God, our deliverer!
For the sake of your glorious reputation,[n] rescue us.
Forgive our sins for the sake of your reputation.[o]
10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Before our very eyes may the shed blood of your servants
be avenged among the nations.[p]
11 Listen to the painful cries of the prisoners.[q]
Use your great strength to set free those condemned to die.[r]
12 Pay back our neighbors in full.[s]
May they be insulted the same way they insulted you, O Lord.[t]
13 Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will continually thank you.[u]
We will tell coming generations of your praiseworthy acts.[v]
5 (4:14)[a] But now slash yourself,[b] daughter surrounded by soldiers![c]
We are besieged!
With a scepter[d] they strike Israel’s ruler[e]
on the side of his face.
A King Will Come and a Remnant Will Prosper
2 (5:1) As for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,[f]
seemingly insignificant[g] among the clans of Judah—
from you a king will emerge who will rule over Israel on my behalf,[h]
one whose origins[i] are in the distant past.[j]
3 So the Lord[k] will hand the people of Israel[l] over to their enemies[m]
until the time when the woman in labor[n] gives birth.[o]
Then the rest of the king’s[p] countrymen will return
to be reunited with the people of Israel.[q]
4 He will assume his post[r] and shepherd the people[s] by the Lord’s strength,
by the sovereign authority of the Lord his God.[t]
They will live securely,[u] for at that time he will be honored[v]
even in the distant regions of[w] the earth.
5 He will give us peace.[x]
Should the Assyrians try to invade our land
and attempt to set foot in our fortresses,[y]
we will send[z] against them seven[aa] shepherd-rulers,[ab]
make that eight commanders.[ac]
Be Ready!
34 “But be on your guard[a] so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day close down upon you suddenly like a trap.[b] 35 For[c] it will overtake[d] all who live on the face of the whole earth.[e] 36 But stay alert at all times,[f] praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that must[g] happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
37 So[h] every day Jesus[i] was teaching in the temple courts,[j] but at night he went and stayed[k] on the Mount of Olives.[l] 38 And all the people[m] came to him early in the morning to listen to him in the temple courts.[n]
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