Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

60 Written by David at the time he was at war with Syria, with the outcome still uncertain; this was when Joab, captain of his forces, slaughtered twelve thousand men of Edom in Salt Valley.

O God, you have rejected us and broken our defenses; you have become angry and deserted us. Lord, restore us again to your favor. ² You have caused this nation to tremble in fear; you have torn it apart. Lord, heal it now, for it is shaken to its depths. ³ You have been very hard on us and made us reel beneath your blows.

^4-5 But you have given us a banner to rally to; all who love truth will rally to it;^[a] then you can deliver your beloved people. Use your strong right arm to rescue us. ^6-7 God has promised to help us. He has vowed it by his holiness! No wonder I exult! “Shechem, Succoth, Gilead, Manasseh—still are mine!” he says. “Judah shall continue to produce kings, and Ephraim great warriors. ⁸ Moab shall become my lowly servant, and Edom my slave. And I will shout in triumph over the Philistines.”

^9-10 Who will bring me in triumph into Edom’s strong cities? God will! He who cast us off! He who abandoned us to our foes! ¹¹ Yes, Lord, help us against our enemies, for man’s help is useless.

¹² With God’s help we shall do mighty things, for he will trample down our foes.

13 It used to be when Israel spoke, the nations shook with fear, for he was a mighty prince; but he worshiped Baal and sealed his doom.

² And now the people disobey more and more. They melt their silver to mold into idols, formed with skill by the hands of men. “Sacrifice to these!” they say—men kissing calves! ³ They shall disappear like morning mist, like dew that quickly dries away, like chaff blown by the wind, like a cloud of smoke.

⁴ “I alone am God, your Lord, and have been ever since I brought you out from Egypt. You have no God but me, for there is no other Savior. ⁵ I took care of you in the wilderness, in that dry and thirsty land. ⁶ But when you had eaten and were satisfied, then you became proud and forgot me. ⁷ So I will come upon you like a lion, or a leopard lurking along the road. ⁸ I will rip you to pieces like a bear whose cubs have been taken away, and like a lion I will devour you.

⁹ “O Israel, if I destroy you, who can save you? ¹⁰ Where is your king? Why don’t you call on him for help? Where are all the leaders of the land? You asked for them, now let them save you! ¹¹ I gave you kings in my anger, and I took them away^[a] in my wrath. ¹² Ephraim’s sins are harvested and stored away for punishment.

¹³ “New birth is offered him, but he is like a child resisting in the womb—how stubborn! how foolish! ¹⁴ Shall I ransom him from hell? Shall I redeem him from Death? O Death, bring forth your terrors for his tasting! O Grave, demonstrate your plagues! For I will not relent!

¹⁵ “He was called the most fruitful of all his brothers, but the east wind—a wind of the Lord from the desert—will blow hard upon him and dry up his land. All his flowing springs and green oases will dry away, and he will die of thirst. ¹⁶ Samaria must bear her guilt, for she rebelled against her God. Her people will be killed by the invading army, her babies dashed to death against the ground, her pregnant women ripped open with a sword.”

² Don’t be weary in prayer; keep at it; watch for God’s answers, and remember to be thankful when they come. ³ Don’t forget to pray for us too, that God will give us many chances to preach the Good News of Christ for which I am here in jail. ⁴ Pray that I will be bold enough to tell it freely and fully and make it plain, as, of course, I should.

⁵ Make the most of your chances to tell others the Good News. Be wise in all your contacts with them. ⁶ Let your conversation be gracious as well as sensible, for then you will have the right answer for everyone.