Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 82
A psalm of Asaph.
1 God presides in the great assembly;
he renders judgment among the ‘gods’:
2 ‘How long will you[a] defend the unjust
and show partiality to the wicked?[b]
3 Defend the weak and the fatherless;
uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
5 ‘The “gods” know nothing, they understand nothing.
They walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 ‘I said, “You are ‘gods’;
you are all sons of the Most High.”
7 But you will die like mere mortals;
you will fall like every other ruler.’
8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth,
for all the nations are your inheritance.
12 ‘But you made the Nazirites drink wine
and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.
13 ‘Now then, I will crush you
as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.
14 The swift will not escape,
the strong will not muster their strength,
and the warrior will not save his life.
15 The archer will not stand his ground,
the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
and the horseman will not save his life.
16 Even the bravest warriors
will flee naked on that day,’
declares the Lord.
Witnesses summoned against Israel
3 Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the Lord has spoken against you – against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:
2 ‘You only have I chosen
of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish you
for all your sins.’
3 Do two walk together
unless they have agreed to do so?
4 Does a lion roar in the thicket
when it has no prey?
Does it growl in its den
when it has caught nothing?
5 Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground
when no bait is there?
Does a trap spring up from the ground
if it has not caught anything?
6 When a trumpet sounds in a city,
do not the people tremble?
When disaster comes to a city,
has not the Lord caused it?
7 Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing
without revealing his plan
to his servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared –
who will not fear?
The Sovereign Lord has spoken –
who can but prophesy?
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.