Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 52[a]
For the music director, a well-written song[b] by David. It was written when Doeg the Edomite went and informed Saul: “David has arrived at the home of Ahimelech.”[c]
52 Why do you boast about your evil plans,[d] O powerful man?
God’s loyal love protects me all day long.[e]
2 Your tongue carries out your destructive plans;[f]
it is as effective as a sharp razor, O deceiver.[g]
3 You love evil more than good,
lies more than speaking the truth.[h] (Selah)
4 You love to use all the words that destroy,[i]
and the tongue that deceives.
5 Yet[j] God will make you a permanent heap of ruins.[k]
He will scoop you up[l] and remove you from your home;[m]
he will uproot you from the land of the living. (Selah)
6 When the godly see this, they will be filled with awe,
and will mock the evildoer, saying:[n]
7 “Look, here is the man who would not make[o] God his protector.
He trusted in his great wealth
and was confident about his plans to destroy others.”[p]
8 But I[q] am like a flourishing[r] olive tree in the house of God;
I continually[s] trust in God’s loyal love.
9 I will continually[t] thank you when[u] you execute judgment;[v]
I will rely on[w] you,[x] for your loyal followers know you are good.[y]
The Party is over for the Rich
6 Woe[a] to those who live in ease in Zion,[b]
to those who feel secure on Mount Samaria.
They think of themselves as[c] the elite class of the best nation.
The family[d] of Israel looks to them for leadership.[e]
2 They say to the people:[f]
“Journey over to Calneh and look at it;
then go from there to Hamath-Rabbah;[g]
then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
Are they superior to our two[h] kingdoms?
Is their territory larger than yours?”[i]
3 You refuse to believe a day of disaster will come,[j]
but you establish a reign of violence.[k]
4 They lie around on beds decorated with ivory,[l]
and sprawl out on their couches.
They eat lambs from the flock,
and calves from the middle of the pen.
5 They sing[m] to the tune of[n] stringed instruments;[o]
like David they invent[p] musical instruments.
6 They drink wine from sacrificial bowls,[q]
and pour the very best oils on themselves.[r]
Yet they are not concerned over[s] the ruin[t] of Joseph.
7 Therefore they will now be the first to go into exile,[u]
and the religious banquets[v] where they sprawl on couches[w] will end.
8 The Sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his very own life.[x]
The Lord God of Heaven’s Armies is speaking:
“I despise Jacob’s arrogance;
I hate their[y] fortresses.
I will hand over to their enemies[z] the city of Samaria[aa] and everything in it.”
9 If ten men are left in one house, they too will die. 10 When their close relatives, the ones who will burn the corpses,[ab] pick up their bodies to remove the bones from the house, they will say to anyone who is in the inner rooms of the house, “Is anyone else with you?” He will respond, “No one.” Then he will say, “Hush! Don’t invoke the Lord’s name!”[ac]
11 Indeed, look! The Lord is giving the command.[ad]
He will smash the large house to bits
and the small house into little pieces.
12 Can horses run on rocky cliffs?
Can one plow the sea with oxen?[ae]
Yet you have turned justice into a poisonous plant,
and the fruit of righteous actions into a bitter plant.[af]
13 You are happy because you conquered Lo Debar.[ag]
You say, “Did we not conquer Karnaim[ah] by our own power?”
14 “Look! I am about to bring[ai] a nation against you, family[aj] of Israel,”
the Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking.
“They will oppress[ak] you all the way from Lebo Hamath[al] to the stream of the rift valley.”[am]
The Parable of the Sower
4 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus[a] from one town after another,[b] he spoke to them[c] in a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow[d] his seed.[e] And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled on, and the wild birds[f] devoured it. 6 Other seed fell on rock,[g] and when it came up, it withered because it had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among the thorns,[h] and they grew up with it and choked[i] it. 8 But[j] other seed fell on good soil and grew,[k] and it produced a hundred times as much grain.”[l] As he said this,[m] he called out, “The one who has ears to hear had better listen!”[n]
9 Then[o] his disciples asked him what this parable meant.[p] 10 He[q] said, “You have been given[r] the opportunity to know[s] the secrets[t] of the kingdom of God,[u] but for others they are in parables, so that although they see they may not see, and although they hear they may not understand.[v]
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