Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer for God’s Mercy upon the Nation.
For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
85 O Lord, You showed (A)favor to Your land;
You [a](B)restored the captivity of Jacob.
2 You (C)forgave the iniquity of Your people;
You (D)covered all their sin. [b]Selah.
3 You (E)withdrew all Your fury;
You (F)turned away from Your burning anger.
4 (G)Restore us, O God of our salvation,
And (H)cause Your indignation toward us to cease.
5 Will (I)You be angry with us forever?
Will You prolong Your anger to [c]all generations?
6 Will You not Yourself [d](J)revive us again,
That Your people may (K)rejoice in You?
7 Show us Your lovingkindness, O Lord,
And (L)grant us Your salvation.
8 [e]I will hear what God the Lord will say;
For He will (M)speak peace to His people, [f]to His godly ones;
But let them not (N)turn back to [g]folly.
9 Surely (O)His salvation is near to those who [h]fear Him,
That (P)glory may dwell in our land.
10 (Q)Lovingkindness and [i]truth have met together;
(R)Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
11 [j]Truth (S)springs from the earth,
And righteousness looks down from heaven.
12 Indeed, (T)the Lord will give what is good,
And our (U)land will yield its produce.
13 (V)Righteousness will go before Him
And will make His footsteps into a way.
God’s Controversy with Israel
4 (A)Listen to the word of the Lord, O sons of Israel,
For the Lord has a (B)case against the inhabitants of the land,
Because there is (C)no [a]faithfulness or [b]kindness
Or (D)knowledge of God in the land.
2 There is (E)swearing, (F)deception, (G)murder, (H)stealing and (I)adultery.
They employ violence, so that (J)bloodshed [c]follows bloodshed.
3 Therefore the land (K)mourns,
And everyone who lives in it languishes
Along with the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky,
And also the fish of the sea [d]disappear.
4 Yet let no one [e](L)find fault, and let none offer reproof;
For your people are like those who (M)contend with the priest.
5 So you will (N)stumble by day,
And the prophet also will stumble with you by night;
And I will destroy your (O)mother.
6 (P)My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have (Q)rejected knowledge,
I also will (R)reject you from being My priest.
Since you have (S)forgotten the (T)law of your God,
I also will forget your children.
7 The more they (U)multiplied, the more they sinned against Me;
I will (V)change their glory into shame.
8 They (W)feed on the [f]sin of My people
And (X)direct their desire toward their iniquity.
9 And it will be, like people, (Y)like priest;
So I will (Z)punish them for their ways
And repay them for their deeds.
10 (AA)They will eat, but not have enough;
They will (AB)play the harlot, but not increase,
Because they have [g](AC)stopped giving heed to the Lord.
11 Harlotry, (AD)wine and new wine take away the [h]understanding.
12 My people (AE)consult their wooden idol, and their diviner’s wand informs them;
For a spirit of harlotry has led them astray,
And they have played the harlot, departing [i]from their God.
13 They offer sacrifices on the (AF)tops of the mountains
And [j](AG)burn incense on the hills,
(AH)Under oak, poplar and terebinth,
Because their shade is pleasant.
Therefore your daughters play the harlot
And your [k]brides commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot
Or your [l]brides when they commit adultery,
For the men themselves go apart with harlots
And offer sacrifices with (AI)temple prostitutes;
So the people without understanding are [m]ruined.
15 Though you, Israel, play the harlot,
Do not let Judah become guilty;
Also do not go to (AJ)Gilgal,
Or go up to Beth-aven
(AK)And take the oath:
“As the Lord lives!”
16 Since Israel is (AL)stubborn
Like a stubborn heifer,
[n]Can the Lord now (AM)pasture them
Like a lamb in a large field?
17 Ephraim is joined to (AN)idols;
(AO)Let him alone.
18 Their liquor gone,
They play the harlot continually;
(AP)Their [o]rulers dearly love shame.
19 (AQ)The wind wraps them in its wings,
And they will be ashamed because of their sacrifices.
15 [a]At this time Peter stood up in the midst of (A)the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty [b]persons was there together), and said, 16 “Brethren, (B)the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, (C)who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was (D)counted among us and received his share in (E)this ministry.” 18 (Now this man (F)acquired a field with (G)the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out. 19 And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem; so that in (H)their own language that field was called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For it is written in the book of Psalms,
‘(I)Let his homestead be made desolate,
And let no one dwell in it’;
and,
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