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.
God’s Blessings for Israel
27 On that day (A)the Lord will punish [a](B)Leviathan the fleeing serpent,
With His fierce and great and mighty sword,
Even [b]Leviathan the twisted serpent;
And (C)He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea.
2 On that day,
“A [c](D)vineyard of beauty, sing of it!
3 I, the Lord, am its keeper;
(E)I water it every moment.
So that no one will [d]damage it,
I (F)guard it night and day.
4 I have no wrath.
Should [e]someone give Me (G)briars and thorns in battle,
Then I would step on them, (H)I would burn them [f]completely.
5 Or let him [g](I)rely on My protection,
Let him make peace with Me,
Let him (J)make peace with Me.”
6 [h]In the days to come Jacob (K)will take root,
Israel will (L)blossom and sprout,
And they will fill the [i]whole world with (M)fruit.
7 Like the striking of Him who has struck them, has (N)He struck them?
Or like the slaughter of His slain, [j]have they been slain?
8 You contended with them [k]by banishing them, by (O)driving them away.
With His fierce wind He has expelled them on the day of the (P)east wind.
9 Therefore through this Jacob’s wrongdoing will be (Q)forgiven;
And this will be [l]the full price of the [m](R)pardoning of his sin:
When he makes all the (S)altar stones like pulverized chalk stones;
When [n]Asherim and incense altars will not stand.
10 For the fortified city is (T)isolated,
A [o]homestead deserted and abandoned like the desert;
(U)There the calf will graze,
And there it will lie down and [p]feed on its branches.
11 When its (V)limbs are dry, they are broken off;
Women come and make a fire with them,
For they are not a people of (W)discernment,
Therefore (X)their Maker (Y)will not have compassion on them.
And their Creator will not be gracious to them.
12 On that day the Lord (Z)will thresh from the flowing stream of the (AA)Euphrates River to the brook of Egypt, and you will be (AB)gathered up one by one, you sons of Israel. 13 It will come about also on that day that a great (AC)trumpet will be blown, and those who were perishing in the land of (AD)Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt will come and (AE)worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.
Traders Driven from the Temple
45 (A)And Jesus entered the temple grounds and began to drive out those who were selling, 46 saying to them, “It is written: ‘(B)And My house will be a house of prayer,’ (C)but you have made it a den of robbers.”
47 And (D)He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people (E)were trying to put Him to death, 48 and yet they could not find [a]anything that they might do, for all the people were hanging on to [b]every word He said.
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