Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
60 (0) For the leader. Set to “Lily of Testimony.” A mikhtam of David for teaching about 2 when he fought with Aram-Naharayim and with Aram-Tzovah, and Yo’av returned and killed 12,000 from Edom in the Salt Valley:
3 (1) God, you rejected us; you crushed us;
you were angry; but now revive us.
4 (2) You made the land shake, split it apart;
now repair the rifts, for it is collapsing.
5 (3) You made your people suffer hard times,
had us drink a wine that made us stagger.
6 (4) To those who fear you because of the truth
you gave a banner to rally around, (Selah)
7 (5) so that those you love could be rescued;
so save with your right hand, and answer us!
8 (6) God in his holiness spoke,
and I took joy [in his promise]:
“I will divide Sh’khem
and determine the shares in the Sukkot Valley.
9 (7) Gil‘ad is mine and M’nasheh mine,
Efrayim my helmet, Y’hudah my scepter.
10 (8) Mo’av is my washpot; on Edom I throw my shoe;
P’leshet, be crushed because of me!”
11 (9) Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
12 (10) God, have you rejected us?
You don’t go out with our armies, God.
13 (11) Help us against our enemy,
for human help is worthless.
14 (12) With God’s help we will fight valiantly,
for he will trample our enemies.
13 “When Efrayim spoke, there was trembling;
he was a power in Isra’el.
But when he incurred guilt through Ba‘al,
he died.
2 So now they keep adding sin to sin,
casting images from their silver;
idols they invent for themselves,
all of them the work of craftsmen.
‘Sacrifice to them,’ they say.
Men give kisses to calves!
3 Therefore they will be like a morning cloud,
like the dew that disappears early,
like chaff blown by wind from the threshing-floor,
or like smoke that goes out the window.
4 Still, I am Adonai your God,
from the land of Egypt;
and you don’t know any God but me
or, other than me, any Savior.
5 I knew you in the desert,
in a land of terrible drought.
6 When they were fed, they were satisfied;
when satisfied, they became proud.
Therefore they forgot me.
7 So now I have become like a lion to them;
like a leopard I will lurk by the road;
8 I will meet them like a bear
whose cubs have been taken away.
I will tear their hearts from their bodies.
I will devour them there like a lion,
like a wild animal ripping them up.
9 It is your destruction, Isra’el,
although your help is in me.
10 So now, where is your king,
to save you in all your cities?
Where are your judges, of whom you said,
‘Give me a king and leaders’?
11 I gave you a king in my anger;
and in my fury I took him away.
12 “Efrayim’s guilt has been wrapped up,
his sin is stored away.
13 The pain of being born will come to him;
but he is an unwise son.
The time has come; and he shouldn’t delay,
there at the mouth of the womb.
14 Should I ransom them from the power of Sh’ol?
Should I redeem them from death?
Where are your plagues, death;
where is your destruction, Sh’ol?
My eyes are closed to compassion.
15 For though he flourishes among the reeds,
an east wind will come, a wind from Adonai,
blowing up from the desert.
Then his water source will dry up,
then his spring will fail —
it will plunder his treasury,
removing every precious thing.”
2 Keep persisting in prayer, staying alert in it and being thankful. 3 Include prayer for us, too, that God may open a door for us to proclaim the message about the secret of the Messiah — for that is why I am in prison. 4 And pray that I may speak, as I should, in a way that makes the message clear.
5 Behave wisely toward outsiders, making full use of every opportunity — 6 let your conversation always be gracious and interesting, so that you will know how to respond to any particular individual.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.