Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer and Praise for Deliverance from Enemies
A (A)Meditation[a] of David, which he sang to the Lord (B)concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite.
7 O Lord my God, in You I put my trust;
(C)Save me from all those who persecute me;
And deliver me,
2 (D)Lest they tear me like a lion,
(E)Rending me in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
3 O Lord my God, (F)if I have done this:
If there is (G)iniquity in my hands,
4 If I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me,
Or (H)have plundered my enemy without cause,
5 Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me;
Yes, let him trample my life to the earth,
And lay my honor in the dust. Selah
6 Arise, O Lord, in Your anger;
(I)Lift Yourself up because of the rage of my enemies;
(J)Rise up [b]for me to the judgment You have commanded!
7 So the congregation of the peoples shall surround You;
For their sakes, therefore, return on high.
8 The Lord shall judge the peoples;
(K)Judge me, O Lord, (L)according to my righteousness,
And according to my integrity within me.
9 Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end,
But establish the just;
(M)For the righteous God tests the hearts and [c]minds.
10 [d]My defense is of God,
Who saves the (N)upright in heart.
11 God is a just judge,
And God is angry with the wicked every day.
12 If he does not turn back,
He will (O)sharpen His sword;
He bends His bow and makes it ready.
13 He also prepares for Himself instruments of death;
He makes His arrows into fiery shafts.
14 (P)Behold, the wicked brings forth iniquity;
Yes, he conceives trouble and brings forth falsehood.
15 He made a pit and dug it out,
(Q)And has fallen into the ditch which he made.
16 (R)His trouble shall return upon his own head,
And his violent dealing shall come down on [e]his own crown.
17 I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness,
And will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.
Punishment of Israel’s Sins
9 “Proclaim in the palaces at [a]Ashdod,
And in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say:
‘Assemble on the mountains of Samaria;
See great tumults in her midst,
And the [b]oppressed within her.
10 For they (A)do not know to do right,’
Says the Lord,
‘Who store up violence and [c]robbery in their palaces.’ ”
11 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
“An adversary shall be all around the land;
He shall sap your strength from you,
And your palaces shall be plundered.”
12 Thus says the Lord:
“As a shepherd [d]takes from the mouth of a lion
Two legs or a piece of an ear,
So shall the children of Israel be taken out
Who dwell in Samaria—
In the corner of a bed and [e]on the edge of a couch!
13 Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,”
Says the Lord God, the God of hosts,
14 “That in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions,
I will also visit destruction on the altars of (B)Bethel;
And the horns of the altar shall be cut off
And fall to the ground.
15 I will [f]destroy (C)the winter house along with (D)the summer house;
The (E)houses of ivory shall perish,
And the great houses shall have an end,”
Says the Lord.
God’s Punishments Have Not Reformed Israel
4 Hear this word, you (F)cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria,
Who oppress the (G)poor,
Who crush the needy,
Who say to [g]your husbands, “Bring wine, let us (H)drink!”
2 (I)The Lord God has sworn by His holiness:
“Behold, the days shall come upon you
When He will take you away (J)with fishhooks,
And your posterity with fishhooks.
3 (K)You will go out through broken walls,
Each one straight ahead of her,
And you will [h]be cast into Harmon,”
Says the Lord.
4 “Come(L) to Bethel and transgress,
At (M)Gilgal multiply transgression;
(N)Bring your sacrifices every morning,
(O)Your tithes every three [i]days.
5 (P)Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven,
Proclaim and announce (Q)the freewill offerings;
For this you love,
You children of Israel!”
Says the Lord God.
Beware of Personal Favoritism
2 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, (A)the Lord of glory, with (B)partiality. 2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in [a]fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in [b]filthy clothes, 3 and you [c]pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” 4 have you not [d]shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my beloved brethren: (C)Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be (D)rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom (E)which He promised to those who love Him? 6 But (F)you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you (G)and drag you into the courts? 7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are (H)called?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.