Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
For the choir director; a maskil by Korah’s descendants.
44 O God,
we have heard it with our own ears.
Our ancestors have told us
about the miracle you performed in their day,
in days long ago.
2 By your power you forced nations ⌞out of the land⌟,
but you planted our ancestors ⌞there⌟.
You shattered many groups of people,
but you set our ancestors free.[a]
3 It was not with their swords that they took possession of the land.
They did not gain victory with their own strength.
It was your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your presence ⌞that did it⌟,
because you were pleased with them.
4 You alone are my king, O God.
You won those victories for Jacob.
5 With you we can walk over our enemies.
With your name we can trample those who attack us.
6 I do not rely on my bow,
and my sword will never save me.
7 But you saved us from our enemies.
You put to shame those who hate us.
8 All day long we praise our God.
We give thanks to you forever. Selah
9 But now you have rejected and disgraced us.
You do not even go along with our armies.
10 You make us retreat from the enemy.
Those who hate us rob us at will.
11 You hand us over to be butchered like sheep
and scatter us among the nations.
12 You sell your people for almost nothing,
and at that price you have gained nothing.
13 You made us a disgrace to our neighbors
and an object of ridicule and contempt to those around us.
14 You made our ⌞defeat⌟ a proverb among the nations
so that people shake their heads at us.
15 All day long my disgrace is in front of me.
Shame covers my face
16 because of the words of those who insult and slander us,
because of the presence of the enemy and the avenger.
17 Although all of this happened to us,
we never forgot you.
We never ignored your promise.[b]
18 Our hearts never turned away.
Our feet never left your path.
19 Yet, you crushed us in a place for jackals
and covered us with the shadow of death.
20 If we forgot the name of our God
or stretched out our hands to pray to another god,
21 wouldn’t God find out,
since he knows the secrets in our hearts?
22 Indeed, we are being killed all day long because of you.
We are thought of as sheep to be slaughtered.
23 Wake up! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?
Awake! Do not reject us forever!
24 Why do you hide your face?
Why do you forget our suffering and misery?
25 Our souls are bowing in the dust.
Our bodies cling to the ground.
26 Arise! Help us!
Rescue us because of your mercy!
11 “Yet, Judah, I have set a harvest time for you
when I bring my people back from captivity.
7 “Whenever I want to heal Israel,
all I can see is Ephraim’s sin and Samaria’s wickedness.
People cheat each other.
They break into houses and steal.
They rob people in the streets.
2 They don’t realize that I remember
all the evil things they’ve done.
Now their sins surround them.
Their sins are in my presence.
3 “They make kings happy with the wicked things they do.
They make officials happy with the lies they tell.
4 They all commit adultery.
They are like a heated oven,
an oven so hot that a baker doesn’t have to fan its flames
when he makes bread.
5 On the day of the king’s celebration,
the officials become drunk from wine,
and the king joins mockers.
6 They become hot like an oven while they lie in ambush.
All night long their anger smolders,
but in the morning it burns like a raging fire.
7 They are all as hot as an oven.
They consume their judges ⌞like a fire⌟.
All their kings die in battle, and none of them calls to me.
Israel Turns to Other Nations for Help
8 “Ephraim mixes with other nations.
Ephraim, you are like a half-baked loaf of bread.
9 Foreigners are using up your strength, but you don’t realize it.
You have become a gray-haired, old man, but you don’t realize it.
10 Israel, your arrogance testifies against you,
but even after all this, you don’t turn to the Lord your God
or look to him for help.
11 Ephraim, you are like a silly, senseless dove.
You call for Egypt and run to Assyria for help.
12 When you go, I will spread my net over you.
I will snatch you out of the air like a bird.
I will punish you for all the evil things you have done.
13 “How horrible it will be for these people.
They have run away from me.
They must be destroyed because they’ve rebelled against me.
I want to reclaim them, but they tell lies about me.
14 They don’t pray to me sincerely,
even though they cry in their beds
and make cuts on their bodies
while praying for grain and new wine.
They have turned against me.
15 I trained them and made them strong.
Yet, they plan evil against me.
16 They don’t return to the Most High.
They are like a defective bow.
Their officials will die in battle
because they curse.
The people in Egypt will ridicule them for this.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you this: Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. 45 In this way you show that you are children of your Father in heaven. He makes his sun rise on people whether they are good or evil. He lets rain fall on them whether they are just or unjust. 46 If you love those who love you, do you deserve a reward? Even the tax collectors do that! 47 Are you doing anything remarkable if you welcome only your friends? Everyone does that! 48 That is why you must be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.
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