Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God Saves from Many Dangers
107 Thank the Lord because he is good.
His love continues forever.
2 That is what those whom the Lord has saved should say.
He has saved them from the enemy
3 and has gathered them from other lands,
from east and west, north and south.
4 Some people had wandered in the desert lands.
They found no city in which to live.
5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and they were discouraged.
6 In their misery they cried out to the Lord,
and he saved them from their troubles.
7 He led them on a straight road
to a city where they could live.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his love
and for the miracles he does for people.
9 He satisfies the thirsty
and fills up the hungry.
43 Whoever is wise will remember these things
and will think about the love of the Lord.
Israel Has Trusted Wrong Things
8 “Put the trumpet to your lips and give the warning!
The enemy swoops down on the Lord’s people like an eagle.
The Israelites have broken my agreement
and have turned against my teachings.
2 They cry out to me,
‘Our God, we in Israel know you!’
3 But Israel has rejected what is good,
so the enemy will chase them.
4 They chose their own kings
without asking my permission.
They chose their own leaders,
people I did not know.
They made their silver and gold into idols,
and for all this they will be destroyed.
5 I hate the calf-shaped idol of Israel!
I am very angry with the people.
How long will they remain unclean?
6 The idol is something a craftsman made;
it is not God.
Israel’s calf-shaped idol
will surely be smashed to pieces.
7 “Israel’s foolish plans are like planting the wind,
but they will harvest a storm.
Like a stalk with no head of grain,
it produces nothing.
Even if it produced something,
other nations would eat it.
8 Israel is eaten up;
the people are mixed among the other nations
and have become useless to me.
9 Israel is like a wild donkey all by itself.
They have run to Assyria;
They have hired other nations to protect them.
10 Although Israel is mixed among the nations,
I will gather them together.
They will become weaker and weaker
as they suffer under the great king of Assyria.
11 “Although Israel built more altars to remove sin,
they have become altars for sinning.
12 I have written many teachings for them,
but they think the teachings are strange and foreign.
13 The Israelites offer sacrifices to me as gifts
and eat the meat,
but the Lord is not pleased with them.
He remembers the evil they have done,
and he will punish them for their sins.
They will be slaves again as they were in Egypt.
14 Israel has forgotten their Maker and has built palaces;
Judah has built many strong, walled cities.
But I will send fire on their cities
and destroy their strong buildings.”
Praise to God
33 Yes, God’s riches are very great, and his wisdom and knowledge have no end! No one can explain the things God decides or understand his ways. 34 As the Scripture says,
“Who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been able to give him advice?” Isaiah 40:13
35 “No one has ever given God anything
that he must pay back.” Job 41:11
36 Yes, God made all things, and everything continues through him and for him. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.