Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Former Times of Help and Present Troubles.
For the music director. A [a]Maskil of the sons of Korah.
44 God, we have heard with our ears,
Our (A)fathers have told us
The (B)work that You did in their days,
In the (C)days of old.
2 You with Your own hand (D)drove out the nations;
Then You (E)planted them;
You (F)afflicted the peoples,
Then You (G)let them go free.
3 For by their own sword they (H)did not possess the land,
And their own arm did not save them,
But Your right hand and Your (I)arm and the (J)light of Your presence,
For You (K)favored them.
4 You are (L)my King, God;
(M)Command [b]victories for Jacob.
5 Through You we will (N)push back our adversaries;
Through Your name we will (O)trample down those who rise up against us.
6 For I will (P)not trust in my bow,
Nor will my sword save me.
7 But You (Q)have saved us from our adversaries,
And You have (R)put to shame those who hate us.
8 In God we have (S)boasted all day long,
And we will (T)give thanks to Your name forever. Selah
9 Yet You (U)have rejected us and brought us to (V)dishonor,
And (W)do not go out with our armies.
10 You cause us to (X)turn back from the enemy;
And those who hate us (Y)have taken spoils for themselves.
11 You turn us over [c]to be eaten like (Z)sheep,
And have (AA)scattered us among the nations.
12 You (AB)sell Your people [d]cheaply,
And have not [e]profited by their sale.
13 You make us an object of (AC)reproach to our neighbors,
Of scoffing and (AD)ridicule to those around us.
14 You make us (AE)a proverb among the nations,
A [f](AF)laughingstock among the peoples.
15 All day long my dishonor is before me
And [g]I am covered with my (AG)humiliation,
16 Because of the voice of one who (AH)taunts and reviles,
Because of the presence of the (AI)enemy and the avenger.
17 All this has come upon us, but we have (AJ)not forgotten You,
And we have not (AK)dealt falsely with Your covenant.
18 Our heart has not (AL)turned back,
And our steps (AM)have not deviated from Your way,
19 Yet You have (AN)crushed us in a place of (AO)jackals
And covered us with [h](AP)deep darkness.
20 If we had (AQ)forgotten the name of our God
Or extended our [i]hands to (AR)a strange god,
21 Would God not (AS)find this out?
For He knows the secrets of the heart.
22 But (AT)for Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are regarded as (AU)sheep to be slaughtered.
23 (AV)Wake Yourself up, why (AW)do You sleep, Lord?
Awake, (AX)do not reject us forever.
24 Why do You (AY)hide Your face
And (AZ)forget our affliction and oppression?
25 For our (BA)souls have sunk down into the dust;
Our bodies cling to the earth.
26 (BB)Rise up, be our help,
And (BC)redeem us because of Your mercy.
Restoration of Israel
14 “Therefore, behold, I am going to persuade her,
(A)Bring her into the wilderness,
And speak [a]kindly to her.
15 Then I will give her her (B)vineyards from there,
And (C)the [b]Valley of Achor as a door of hope.
And she will [c](D)respond there as in the days of her youth,
As in the (E)day when she went up from the land of Egypt.
16 And it will come about on that day,” declares the Lord,
“That you will call Me [d](F)my husband
And no longer call Me my [e]Baal.
17 For (G)I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth,
So that they will no longer be [f]mentioned by their names.
18 On that day I will also make a covenant for them
With the (H)animals of the field,
The birds of the sky,
And the crawling things of the ground.
And I will [g](I)eliminate the bow, the sword, and war from the land,
And will let them (J)lie down in safety.
19 I will (K)betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me in (L)righteousness and in justice,
In favor and in compassion,
20 And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness.
Then you will (M)know the Lord.
21 “And it will come about on that day that (N)I will respond,” declares the Lord.
“I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth,
22 And the (O)earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine, and to the oil,
And they will respond to [h]Jezreel.
23 I will (P)sow her for Myself in the land.
(Q)I will also have compassion on [i]her who had not obtained compassion,
And (R)I will say to [j]those who were (S)not My people,
‘You are My people!’
And [k]they will say, ‘You are my God!’”
Hosea’s Redemption of Gomer
3 Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love [l]a woman who is loved by her [m]husband, yet is committing adultery, (T)as the Lord loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love [n]raisin (U)cakes.” 2 So I (V)purchased her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver, and a [o]homer and a [p]lethech of barley. 3 Then I said to her, “You shall (W)live with me for many days. You shall not play the prostitute, nor shall you have another man; so I will also be toward you.” 4 For the sons of Israel will live for many days (X)without a king or leader, (Y)without sacrifice or (Z)memorial stone, and without (AA)ephod or [q](AB)household idols. 5 Afterward the sons of Israel will (AC)return and seek the Lord their God and (AD)David their king; and (AE)they will come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness in the last days.
16 Therefore, no one is to [a](A)act as your judge in regard to (B)food and (C)drink, or in respect to a (D)festival or a (E)new moon, or a (F)Sabbath [b]day— 17 things which are only a (G)shadow of what is to come; but the [c]substance [d]belongs to Christ. 18 Take care that no one keeps [e](H)defrauding you of your prize by (I)delighting in humility and the worship of the angels, [f]taking his stand on visions he has seen, [g](J)inflated without cause by his (K)fleshly mind, 19 and not holding firmly to (L)the head, from whom (M)the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and [h]ligaments, grows with a growth [i]which is from God.
20 (N)If you have died with Christ [j]to the (O)elementary principles of the world, (P)why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to (Q)decrees, such as, 21 “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” 22 (which all refer (R)to things destined to perish [k]with use)—in accordance with the (S)commandments and teachings of man? 23 These are matters which do have the [l]appearance of wisdom in [m](T)self-made religion and humility and (U)severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against (V)fleshly indulgence.
Put On the New Self
3 Therefore, if you have been (W)raised with Christ, keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, (X)seated at the right hand of God.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.