Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 71[a]
71 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter.
Never let me be humiliated.
2 Vindicate me by rescuing me.[b]
Listen to me.[c] Deliver me.[d]
3 Be my protector and refuge,[e]
a stronghold where I can be safe.[f]
For you are my high ridge[g] and my stronghold.
4 My God, rescue me from the power[h] of the wicked,
from the hand of the cruel oppressor.
5 For you are my hope;
O Sovereign Lord, I have trusted in you since I was young.[i]
6 I have leaned on you since birth;[j]
you pulled me[k] from my mother’s womb.
I praise you continually.[l]
The Destruction of Jerusalem Depicted
6 “Run for safety, people of Benjamin!
Get out of Jerusalem![a]
Sound the trumpet[b] in Tekoa!
Light the signal fires at Beth Hakkerem!
For disaster lurks[c] out of the north;
it will bring great destruction.[d]
2 I will destroy[e] Daughter Zion,[f]
who is as delicate and defenseless as a young maiden.[g]
3 Kings will attack her with their armies.[h]
They will encamp in siege all around her.[i]
Each of them will devastate the portion assigned to him.[j]
4 They will say,[k] ‘Prepare to do battle[l] against it!
Come on! Let’s attack it at noon!’
But later they will say,[m] ‘Woe to us![n]
For the day is almost over,
and the shadows of evening are getting long.
5 So come on, let’s go ahead and attack it by night
and destroy all its fortified buildings.’
6 All this is because[o] the Lord of Heaven’s Armies[p] has said:
‘Cut down the trees around Jerusalem
and build up a siege ramp against its walls.[q]
This is the city that is to be punished.[r]
Nothing but oppression happens in it.[s]
7 As a well continually pours out fresh water
so it continually pours out wicked deeds.[t]
Sounds of violence and destruction echo throughout it.[u]
All I see are sick and wounded people.’[v]
8 So[w] take warning, Jerusalem,
or I will abandon you in disgust[x]
and make you desolate,
a place where no one can live.”
9 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies[y] said to me:[z]
“Those who remain in Israel will be
like the grapes thoroughly gleaned[aa] from a vine.
So go over them again, as though you were a grape harvester
passing your hand over the branches one last time.”[ab]
10 I answered,[ac]
“Who would listen
if I spoke to them and warned them?[ad]
Their ears are so closed[ae]
that they cannot hear!
Indeed,[af] the Lord’s message is offensive to them.
They do not like it at all.[ag]
11 I am as full of anger as you are, Lord,[ah]
I am tired of trying to hold it in.”
The Lord answered,[ai]
“Vent it, then,[aj] on the children who play in the street
and on the young men who are gathered together.
Husbands and wives are to be included,[ak]
as well as the old and those who are advanced in years.
12 Their houses will be turned over to others
as will their fields and their wives.
For I will unleash my power[al]
against those who live in this land,”
says the Lord.
13 “That is because, from the least important to the most important of them,
all of them are greedy for dishonest gain.
Prophets and priests alike,
all of them practice deceit.
14 They offer only superficial help
for the harm my people have suffered.[am]
They say, ‘Everything will be all right!’
But everything is not all right![an]
15 Are they ashamed because they have done such shameful things?
No, they are not at all ashamed.
They do not even know how to blush!
So they will die, just like others have died.[ao]
They will be brought to ruin when I punish them,”
says the Lord.
16 The Lord said to his people:[ap]
“You are standing at the crossroads. So consider your path.[aq]
Ask where the old, reliable paths[ar] are.
Ask where the path is that leads to blessing[as] and follow it.
If you do, you will find rest for your souls.”
But they said, “We will not follow it!”
17 The Lord said,[at]
“I appointed prophets as watchmen to warn you,[au] saying,
‘Pay attention to the warning sound of the trumpet!’”[av]
But they said, “We will not pay attention!”
18 So the Lord said,[aw]
“Hear, you nations!
Be witnesses and take note of what will happen to these people.[ax]
19 Hear this, you peoples of the earth:[ay]
‘Take note![az] I am about to bring disaster on these people.
It will come as punishment for their scheming.[ba]
For they have paid no attention to what I have said,[bb]
and they have rejected my law.
3 Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up. 4 You have not yet resisted to the point of bloodshed[a] in your struggle against sin. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons?
“My son, do not scorn[b] the Lord’s discipline
or give up when he corrects[c] you.
6 “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son he accepts.”[d]
7 Endure your suffering[e] as discipline;[f] God is treating you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? 8 But if you do not experience discipline,[g] something all sons[h] have shared in, then you are illegitimate and are not sons. 9 Besides, we have experienced discipline from[i] our earthly fathers[j] and we respected them; shall we not submit ourselves all the more to the Father of spirits and receive life?[k] 10 For they disciplined us for a little while as seemed good to them, but he does so for our benefit, that we may share his holiness. 11 Now all discipline seems painful at the time, not joyful.[l] But later it produces the fruit of peace and righteousness[m] for those trained by it. 12 Therefore, strengthen[n] your listless hands and your weak knees,[o] 13 and make straight paths for your feet,[p] so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but be healed.
Do Not Reject God’s Warning
14 Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness,[q] for without it no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God, that no one be like a bitter root springing up[r] and causing trouble, and through it many become defiled. 16 And see to it that no one becomes[s] an immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.[t] 17 For you know that[u] later when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no opportunity for repentance, although he sought the blessing[v] with tears.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.