Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
An Appeal against the Devastation of the Land by the Enemy.
A [a]Maskil of Asaph.
74 God, why have You (A)rejected us forever?
Why does Your anger (B)smoke against the (C)sheep of Your [b]pasture?
2 Remember Your congregation, which You (D)purchased of old,
Which You have (E)redeemed to be the (F)tribe of Your inheritance;
And this Mount (G)Zion, where You have dwelt.
3 [c]Step toward the [d](H)irreparable ruins;
The enemy (I)has damaged everything in the sanctuary.
4 Your adversaries have (J)roared in the midst of Your meeting place;
They have set up their (K)own signs as (L)signs.
5 It [e]seems like one bringing up
His (M)axe into a [f]forest of trees.
6 And now they break down [g]all its (N)carved work
With axe and hammers.
7 They have [h](O)burned Your sanctuary [i]to the ground;
They have (P)defiled the dwelling place of Your name.
8 They (Q)said in their heart, “Let’s [j]completely [k]subdue them.”
They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9 We do not see our (R)signs;
There is (S)no longer any prophet,
Nor is there anyone among us who knows (T)how long.
10 How long, God, will the enemy (U)taunt You?
Shall the enemy (V)treat Your name disrespectfully forever?
11 Why (W)do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand?
Extend it from Your chest and (X)destroy them!
12 Yet God is (Y)my King from long ago,
Who performs acts of salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 [l]You (Z)divided the sea by Your strength;
[m]You (AA)broke the heads of the (AB)sea monsters [n]in the waters.
14 [o]You crushed the heads of [p](AC)Leviathan;
You gave him as food for the [q]creatures (AD)of the wilderness.
15 [r]You (AE)broke open springs and torrents;
[s]You (AF)dried up ever-flowing streams.
16 Yours is the day, Yours also is the night;
[t]You have (AG)prepared the [u]light and the sun.
17 [v]You have (AH)established all the boundaries of the earth;
[w]You have [x]created (AI)summer and winter.
18 Remember this, [y]Lord, that the enemy has (AJ)taunted You,
And a (AK)foolish people has treated Your name disrespectfully.
19 Do not give the soul of Your (AL)turtledove to the wild animal;
(AM)Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.
20 Consider the (AN)covenant;
For the (AO)dark places of the land are full of the places of violence.
21 May the (AP)oppressed person not return dishonored;
May the (AQ)afflicted and the needy praise Your name.
Woes for the Wicked
8 Woe to those who (A)attach house to house and join field to field,
Until there is no more room,
And you alone are a landowner in the midst of the land!
9 In my ears the Lord of armies has sworn, “(B)Many houses shall certainly become (C)desolate,
Even great and fine ones, without occupants.
10 For (D)ten acres of vineyard will yield only one [a]bath of wine,
And a [b](E)homer of seed will yield only an [c]ephah of grain.”
11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning so that they may pursue (F)intoxicating drink,
Who stay up late in the evening so that wine may inflame them!
12 Their banquets are accompanied by lyre and (G)harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine;
But they (H)do not pay attention to the deeds of the Lord,
Nor do they consider the work of His hands.
13 Therefore My people go into exile for their (I)lack of knowledge;
And their [d](J)nobles are famished,
And their multitude is parched with thirst.
14 Therefore (K)Sheol has enlarged its [e]throat and opened its mouth beyond measure;
And [f]Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her noise of revelry, and the jubilant within her, descend into it.
15 So the common people will be humbled and the person of importance brought low,
(L)The eyes of the haughty also will be brought low.
16 But the (M)Lord of armies will be (N)exalted in judgment,
And the holy God will show Himself (O)holy in righteousness.
17 (P)Then the lambs will graze as in their pasture,
And strangers will eat in the ruins of the [g]wealthy.
18 Woe to those who drag (Q)wrongdoing with the cords of [h]deceit,
And sin as if with cart ropes;
19 (R)Who say, “Let Him hurry, let Him do His work quickly, so that we may see it;
And let the plan of the Holy One of Israel approach
And come to pass, so that we may know it!”
20 Woe to those who (S)call evil good, and good evil;
Who [i](T)substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who [j]substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe to those who are (U)wise in their own eyes
And [k]clever in their own sight!
22 (V)Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine,
And valiant men in mixing intoxicating drink,
23 (W)Who declare the wicked innocent for a bribe,
And (X)take away the [l]rights of the ones who are in the right!
Testing the Spirits
4 (A)Beloved, do not believe every (B)spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because (C)many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: (D)every spirit that (E)confesses that (F)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that (G)does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the (H)antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and (I)now it is already in the world. 4 You are from God, (J)little children, and (K)have overcome them; because (L)greater is He who is in you than (M)he who is in the world. 5 (N)They are from the world, therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 (O)We are from God. (P)The one who knows God listens to us; (Q)the one who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know (R)the spirit of truth and (S)the spirit of error.
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