Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 75

To the Chief Musician; [set to the tune of] “Do Not Destroy.” A Psalm of Asaph. A song.

¹ We give praise and thanks to You, O God, we praise and give thanks; Your wondrous works declare that Your ^[a]Name is near and they who invoke Your Name rehearse Your wonders.

² When the proper time has come [for executing My judgments], I will judge uprightly [says the Lord].

³ When the earth totters, and all the inhabitants of it, it is I Who will poise and keep steady its pillars. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

⁴ I said to the arrogant and boastful, Deal not arrogantly [do not boast]; and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn [of personal aggrandizement].

⁵ Lift not up your [aggressive] horn on high, speak not with a stiff neck and insolent arrogance.

⁶ For not from the east nor from the west nor from the south come promotion and lifting up.^(A)

⁷ But God is the Judge! He puts down one and lifts up another.

⁸ For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup [of His wrath], and the wine foams and is red, well mixed; and He pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth must drain it and drink its dregs.^(B)

⁹ But I will declare and rejoice forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

¹⁰ All the horns of the ungodly also will I cut off [says the Lord], but the horns of the [uncompromisingly] righteous shall be exalted.

4 Now the wife of a son of the prophets cried to Elisha, Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. But the creditor has come to take my two sons to be his slaves.

² Elisha said to her, What shall I do for you? Tell me, what have you [of sale value] in the house? She said, Your handmaid has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.

³ Then he said, Go around and borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels—and not a few.

⁴ And when you come in, shut the door upon you and your sons. Then pour out [the oil you have] into all those vessels, setting aside each one when it is full.

⁵ So she went from him and shut the door upon herself and her sons, who brought to her the vessels as she poured the oil.

⁶ When the vessels were all full, she said to her son, Bring me another vessel. And he said to her, There is not a one left. Then the oil stopped multiplying.

⁷ Then she came and told the man of God. He said, Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons live on the rest.

¹⁶ Behold, I am sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves; be ^[a]wary and wise as serpents, and be innocent (harmless, guileless, and ^[b]without falsity) as doves.^(A)

¹⁷ Be on guard against men [whose ^[c]way or nature is to act in opposition to God]; for they will deliver you up to councils and flog you in their synagogues,

¹⁸ And you will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a witness to bear testimony before them and to the Gentiles (the nations).

¹⁹ But when they deliver you up, do not be anxious about how or what you are to speak; for what you are to say will be given you in that very hour and ^[d]moment,

²⁰ For it is not you who are speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

²¹ Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child; and children will take a stand against their parents and will have them put to death.

²² And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake, but he who perseveres and endures to the end will be saved [^[e]from spiritual disease and death in the world to come].

²³ When they persecute you in one town [that is, pursue you in a manner that would injure you and cause you to suffer because of your belief], flee to another town; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before ^[f] the Son of Man comes.

²⁴ A disciple is not above his teacher, nor is a servant or slave above his master.

²⁵ It is sufficient for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant or slave like his master. If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub [^[g]master of the dwelling], how much more will they speak evil of those of His household.^(B)