Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 81

To the Chief Musician; set to Philistine lute, or [possibly] a particular Gittite tune. [A Psalm] of Asaph.

¹ Sing aloud to God our Strength! Shout for joy to the God of Jacob!

¹⁰ I am the Lord your God, Who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.

¹¹ But My people would not hearken to My voice, and Israel would have none of Me.

¹² So I gave them up to their own hearts’ lust and let them go after their own stubborn will, that they might follow their own counsels.^(A)

¹³ Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways!

¹⁴ Speedily then I would subdue their enemies and turn My hand against their adversaries.

¹⁵ [Had Israel listened to Me in Egypt, then] those who hated the Lord would have come cringing before Him, and their defeat would have lasted forever.

¹⁶ [God] would feed [Israel now] also with the finest of the wheat; and with honey out of the rock would I satisfy you.

12 Uncompromisingly righteous and rigidly just are You, O Lord, when I complain against and contend with You. Yet let me plead and reason the case with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are all they at ease and thriving who deal very treacherously and deceitfully?

² You have planted them, yes, they have taken root; they grow, yes, they bring forth fruit. You are near in their mouths but far from their hearts.

³ But You, O Lord, know and understand me and my devotion to You; You see me and try my heart toward You. [O Lord] pull [these rebellious ones] out like sheep for the slaughter and devote and prepare them for the day of slaughter.

⁴ How long must the land mourn and the grass and herbs of the whole country wither? Through the wickedness of those who dwell in it, the beasts and the birds are consumed and are swept away [by the drought], because men [mocked] me, saying, He shall not [live to] see our final end.

⁵ [But the Lord rebukes Jeremiah’s impatience, saying] If you have raced with men on foot and they have tired you out, then how can you compete with horses? And if [you take to flight] in a land of peace where you feel secure, then what will you do [when you tread the tangled maze of jungle haunted by lions] in the swelling and flooding of the Jordan?

⁶ For even your brethren and the house of your father—even they have dealt treacherously with you; yes, even they are [like a pack of hounds] in full cry after you. Believe them not, though they speak fair words and promise good things to you.

⁷ I have forsaken My house, I have cast off My heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of My life into the hands of her enemies.

⁸ My heritage has become to Me like a lion in the forest; she has uttered her voice against Me; therefore I have [treated her as if I] hated her.

⁹ Is My heritage to Me like a speckled bird of prey? Are the birds of prey against her round about? Go, assemble all the wild beasts of the field; bring them to devour.

¹⁰ Many shepherds [of an invading host] have destroyed My vineyard, they have trampled My portion underfoot; they have made My pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.

¹¹ They have made it a desolation, and desolate it mourns before Me; the whole land has been made desolate, but no man lays it to heart.

¹² Destroyers have come upon all the bare heights in the desert, for the sword of the Lord devours from one end of the land even to the other; no flesh has peace or can find the means to escape.

¹³ They have sown wheat but have reaped thorns; they have worn themselves out but without profit. And they shall be ashamed of your [lack of] harvests and revenues because of the fierce and glowing anger of the Lord.

⁷ But the end and culmination of all things has now come near; keep sound minded and self-restrained and alert therefore for [the practice of] prayer.

⁸ Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and ^[a]disregards the offenses of others].^(A)

⁹ Practice hospitality to one another (those of the household of faith). [Be hospitable, be a lover of strangers, with brotherly affection for the unknown guests, the foreigners, the poor, and all others who come your way who are of Christ’s body.] And [in each instance] do it ungrudgingly (cordially and graciously, without complaining but as representing Him).

¹⁰ As each of you has received a gift (a particular spiritual talent, a gracious divine endowment), employ it for one another as [befits] good trustees of God’s many-sided grace [faithful stewards of the ^[b]extremely diverse powers and gifts granted to Christians by unmerited favor].

¹¹ Whoever speaks, [let him do it as one who utters] oracles of God; whoever renders service, [let him do it] as with the strength which God furnishes ^[c]abundantly, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ (the Messiah). To Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever (through endless ages). Amen (so be it).