Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

81 The Lord makes us strong! Sing praises! Sing to Israel’s God!

¹⁰ For it was I, Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. Only test me!^[a] Open your mouth wide and see if I won’t fill it. You will receive every blessing you can use!

¹¹ “But no, my people won’t listen. Israel doesn’t want me around. ¹² So I am letting them go their blind and stubborn way, living according to their own desires.

¹³ “But oh, that my people would listen to me! Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths! ¹⁴ How quickly then I would subdue her enemies! How soon my hands would be upon her foes! ¹⁵ Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him; their desolation would last forever. ¹⁶ But he would feed you with the choicest foods. He would satisfy you with honey for the taking.”^[b]

12 O Lord, you always give me justice when I bring a case before you to decide. Now let me bring you this complaint: Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why are evil men so happy? ² You plant them. They take root and their business grows. Their profits multiply, and they are rich. They say, “Thank God!” But in their hearts they give no credit to you. ³ But as for me—Lord, you know my heart—you know how much it longs for you. (And I am poor,^[a] O Lord!) Lord, drag them off like helpless sheep to the slaughter. Judge them, O God!

⁴ How long must this land of yours put up with all their goings-on? Even the grass of the field groans and weeps over their wicked deeds! The wild animals and birds have moved away, leaving the land deserted. Yet the people say, “God won’t bring judgment on us. We’re perfectly safe!”

⁵ The Lord replied to me: If racing with mere men—these men of Anathoth—has wearied you, how will you race against horses, against the king, his court, and all his evil priests?^[b] If you stumble and fall on open ground, what will you do in Jordan’s jungles? ⁶ Even your own brothers, your own family, have turned against you. They have plotted to call for a mob to lynch you. Don’t trust them, no matter how pleasantly they speak. Don’t believe them.

⁷ Then the Lord said: I have abandoned my people, my inheritance; I have surrendered my dearest ones to their enemies. ⁸ My people have roared at me like a lion of the forest, so I have treated them as though I hated them. ⁹ My people have fallen. I will bring upon them swarms of vultures and wild animals to pick the flesh from their corpses.

¹⁰ Many foreign rulers have ravaged my vineyard, trampling down the vines, and turning all its beauty into barren wilderness. ¹¹ They have made it desolate; I hear its mournful cry. The whole land is desolate and no one cares. ¹² Destroying armies plunder the land; the sword of the Lord devours from one end of the nation to the other; nothing shall escape. ¹³ My people have sown wheat but reaped thorns; they have worked hard, but it does them no good. They shall harvest a crop of shame, for the fierce anger of the Lord is upon them.

⁷ The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore be earnest, thoughtful men of prayer. ⁸ Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love makes up for many of your faults.^{[a] 9} Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay for the night.

¹⁰ God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure to use them to help each other, passing on to others God’s many kinds of blessings. ¹¹ Are you called to preach? Then preach as though God himself were speaking through you. Are you called to help others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies so that God will be glorified through Jesus Christ—to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.