Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A psalm by Asaph.
82 God takes his place in his own assembly.
He pronounces judgment among the gods:
2 “How long are you going to judge unfairly?
How long are you going to side with wicked people?” Selah
3 Defend weak people and orphans.
Protect the rights of the oppressed and the poor.
4 Rescue weak and needy people.
Help them escape the power of wicked people.
5 Wicked people do not know or understand anything.
As they walk around in the dark,
all the foundations of the earth shake.
6 I said, “You are gods.
You are all sons of the Most High.
7 You will certainly die like humans
and fall like any prince.”
8 Arise, O God!
Judge the earth, because all the nations belong to you.
Judah Will Be Judged for Its Crimes
4 This is what the Lord says:
Because Judah has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime,
I will not change my plans.
The people of Judah have rejected the Lord’s Teachings
and haven’t kept his laws.
They have been led astray by false teachings,
the same ones their ancestors followed.
5 I will send a fire on Judah
and burn down the palaces of Jerusalem.
Israel Will Be Judged for Its Crimes
6 This is what the Lord says:
Because Israel has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime,
I will not change my plans.
The people of Israel sell the righteous for money
and the needy for a pair of sandals.
7 They stomp the heads of the poor into the dust.
They push the humble out of the way.
Father and son sleep with the same woman.
They dishonor my holy name.
8 Beside every altar, they spread themselves out on clothes
taken as security.
In the temples of their gods, they drink the wine
that they bought with fines.
9 I destroyed the Amorites in front of them,
although the Amorites were as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks.
I destroyed their fruit above the ground and their roots below it.
10 I brought you out of Egypt.
I led you through the desert for 40 years
so that you could take possession of the land of the Amorites.
11 I also sent you prophets from among your children
and Nazirites from among your youths.
Isn’t that so, people of Israel?
The Lord has declared this.
9 “Jacob’s sons were jealous of their brother Joseph. They sold him into slavery, and he was taken to Egypt. But God was with Joseph 10 and rescued him from all his suffering. When Joseph stood in the presence of Pharaoh (the king of Egypt), God gave Joseph divine favor [a] and wisdom so that he became ruler of Egypt and of Pharaoh’s whole palace. 11 Then a famine throughout Egypt and Canaan brought a lot of suffering. Our ancestors couldn’t find any food. 12 When Jacob heard that Egypt had food, he sent our ancestors there. That was their first trip. 13 On the second trip, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. 14 Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his relatives, 75 people in all. 15 So Jacob went to Egypt, and he and our ancestors died there. 16 They were taken to Shechem for burial in the tomb that Abraham purchased in Shechem from Hamor’s sons.
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