Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 85[a]
For the music director, written by the Korahites, a psalm.
85 O Lord, you showed favor to your land;
you restored the well-being of Jacob.[b]
2 You pardoned[c] the wrongdoing of your people;
you forgave[d] all their sin. (Selah)
3 You withdrew all your fury;
you turned back from your raging anger.[e]
4 Restore us, O God our deliverer.
Do not be displeased with us.[f]
5 Will you stay mad at us forever?
Will you remain angry throughout future generations?[g]
6 Will you not revive us once more?
Then your people will rejoice in you.
7 O Lord, show us your loyal love.
Bestow on us your deliverance.
8 I will listen to what God the Lord says.[h]
For he will make[i] peace with his people, his faithful followers.[j]
Yet they must not[k] return to their foolish ways.
9 Certainly his loyal followers will soon experience his deliverance;[l]
then his splendor will again appear in our land.[m]
10 Loyal love and faithfulness meet;[n]
deliverance and peace greet each other with a kiss.[o]
11 Faithfulness grows from the ground,
and deliverance looks down from the sky.[p]
12 Yes, the Lord will bestow his good blessings,[q]
and our land will yield[r] its crops.
13 Deliverance goes[s] before him,
and prepares[t] a pathway for him.[u]
The Lord’s Covenant Lawsuit against the Nation Israel
4 Listen to the Lord’s message, you Israelites![a]
For the Lord has a covenant lawsuit[b] against the people of Israel.[c]
For there is neither faithfulness nor loyalty in the land,
nor do they acknowledge God.[d]
2 There is only cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery.
They resort to violence and bloodshed.[e]
3 Therefore the land will mourn,
and all its inhabitants will perish.[f]
The wild animals,[g] the birds of the sky,
and even the fish in the sea will perish.
The Lord’s Dispute against the Sinful Priesthood
4 Do not let anyone accuse or contend against anyone else:[h]
for my case is against you priests![i]
5 You stumble day and night,
and the false prophets stumble with you;
you have destroyed your own people.[j]
6 You have destroyed[k] my people
by failing to acknowledge me!
Because you refuse to acknowledge me,[l]
I will reject you as my priests.
Because you reject[m] the law of your God,
I will reject[n] your descendants.
7 The more the priests increased in numbers,
the more they rebelled against me.
They have turned[o] their glorious calling
into a shameful disgrace!
8 They feed on the sin offerings of my people;
their appetites long for their iniquity!
9 I will deal with the people and priests together:[p]
I will punish them both for their ways,
and I will repay them for their deeds.
10 They will eat, but not be satisfied;
they will engage in prostitution, but not increase in numbers;
because they have abandoned the Lord
by pursuing other gods.[q]
Judgment of Pagan Idolatry and Cultic Prostitution
11 Old and new wine
take away the understanding of my people.[r]
12 They consult their wooden idols,
and their diviner’s staff answers with an oracle.
The wind of prostitution blows them astray;
they commit spiritual adultery[s] against their God.
13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops
and burn offerings on the hills;
they sacrifice[t] under oak, poplar, and terebinth,
because their shade is so pleasant.
As a result, your daughters have become cult prostitutes,
and your daughters-in-law commit adultery!
14 I will not punish your daughters when they commit prostitution,
nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery.
For the men consort with harlots,
they sacrifice with temple prostitutes.
It is true:[u] “A people that lacks understanding will come to ruin!”
Warning to Judah: Do Not Join in Israel’s Apostasy
15 Although you, O Israel, commit adultery,
do not let Judah become guilty!
Do not journey to Gilgal.
Do not go up to Beth Aven.[v]
Do not swear, “As surely as the Lord lives!”
16 Israel has rebelled[w] like a stubborn heifer!
Soon[x] the Lord will put them out to pasture
like a lamb in a broad field.[y]
17 Ephraim has attached himself to idols;
Do not go near him!
The Shameful Sinners Will Be Brought to Shame
18 They consume their alcohol,
then engage in cult prostitution;
they dearly love their shameful behavior.
19 A whirlwind has wrapped them in its wings;
they will be brought to shame because of their idolatrous worship.[z]
15 In those days[a] Peter stood up among the believers[b] (a gathering of about 120 people) and said, 16 “Brothers,[c] the scripture had to be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit foretold through[d] David concerning Judas—who became the guide for those who arrested Jesus— 17 for he was counted as one of us and received a share in this ministry.”[e] 18 (Now this man Judas[f] acquired a field with the reward of his unjust deed,[g] and falling headfirst[h] he burst open in the middle and all his intestines[i] gushed out. 19 This[j] became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so that in their own language[k] they called that field[l] Hakeldama, that is, “Field of Blood.”) 20 “For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his house become deserted,[m] and let there be no one to live in it,’[n] and ‘Let another take his position of responsibility.’[o]
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