Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Lord Implored to Avenge His People.
94 O Lord God, You to whom vengeance belongs,
O God, You to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth [in judgment]!
2
Rise up, O Judge of the earth;
Give to the proud a fitting compensation.
3
O Lord, how long will the wicked,
How long will the wicked rejoice in triumph?
4
They pour out words, speaking arrogant things;
All who do evil boast proudly.(A)
5
They crush Your people, O Lord,
And afflict and abuse Your heritage.
6
[a]They kill the widow and the alien
And murder the fatherless.
7
Yet they say, “The Lord does not see,
Nor does the God of Jacob (Israel) notice it.”
8
Consider thoughtfully, you senseless (stupid ones) among the people;
And you [dull-minded] fools, when will you become wise and understand?
9
He who made the ear, does He not hear?
He who formed the eye, does He not see?
10
He who instructs the nations,
Does He not rebuke and punish,
He who teaches man knowledge?
11
The Lord knows the thoughts of man,
That they are a mere breath (vain, empty, futile).(B)
12
Blessed [with wisdom and prosperity] is the man whom You discipline and instruct, O Lord,
And whom You teach from Your law,
13
That You may grant him [power to calm himself and find] peace in the days of adversity,
Until the pit is dug for the wicked and ungodly.
14
For the Lord will not abandon His people,
Nor will He abandon His inheritance.
15
For judgment will again be righteous,
And all the upright in heart will follow it.
16
Who will stand up for me against the evildoers?
Who will take a stand for me against those who do wickedness?
17
If the Lord had not been my help,
I would soon have dwelt in [the land of] silence.
18
If I say, “My foot has slipped,”
Your compassion and lovingkindness, O Lord, will hold me up.
19
When my anxious thoughts multiply within me,
Your comforts delight me.
20
Can a throne of destruction be allied with You,
One which frames and devises mischief by decree [under the sacred name of law]?
21
They band themselves together against the life of the righteous
And condemn the innocent to death.
22
But the Lord has become my high tower and defense,
And my God the rock of my refuge.
23
He has turned back their own wickedness upon them
And will destroy them by means of their own evil;
The Lord our God will wipe them out.
Jerusalem’s Godlessness
5 “Roam back and forth through the streets of Jerusalem,
And look now and take note.
And look in her open squares
To see if you can find a man [as Abraham sought in Sodom],
One who is just, who [has integrity and moral courage and] seeks truth (faithfulness);
Then I will pardon Jerusalem—[for the sake of one uncompromisingly righteous person].(A)
2
“And though they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’
Surely they swear [their oaths] falsely.”
3
O Lord, do not Your eyes look for truth?
You [have seen their faithless heart and] have stricken them,
But they did not weaken;
You have consumed them,
But they refused to take correction or instruction.
They have made their faces harder than rock;
They have refused to repent and return to You.
4
Then I said, “[Surely] these are only the poor (uneducated);
They are [sinfully] foolish and have no [spiritual] understanding,
For they do not know the way of the Lord
Or the ordinance of their God [and the requirements of His just and righteous law].
5
“I will go to the great [men]
And speak to them,
For they [must] know the way of the Lord,
The ordinance of their God.”
But [I found the reverse to be true, that] they too had all alike broken the yoke [of God’s law]
And had burst the bonds [of obedience to Him].
6
Therefore a lion from the forest will kill them,
A wolf of the deserts will destroy them,
A leopard is watching their cities.
Everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces,
Because their transgressions are many,
Their desertions of faith are countless.
7
“Why should I [overlook these offenses and] forgive you?
Your children have abandoned (rejected) Me
And sworn [their oaths] by those who are not gods.
When I had fed them until they were full [and bound them to Me by a promise],
They committed [spiritual] adultery,
Assembling in troops at the houses of prostitutes (idols).
8
“They were like well-fed, lusty stallions,
Each one neighing after his neighbor’s wife.
9
“Shall I not punish them [for these things]?” says the Lord;
“Shall I not avenge Myself
On a nation such as this?”
10
“Go up through the rows of Jerusalem’s vineyards and destroy [them],
But do not completely destroy everything.
Strip away her branches and the tendrils [of her vines],
For they are not the Lord’s.
11
“For the house of Israel and the house of Judah
Have dealt very treacherously (faithlessly) with Me,” declares the Lord.
12
They have lied about and denied the Lord
By saying, “It is not He [who speaks through His prophets];
Misfortune and evil shall not come on us,
Nor will we see war or famine.
13
“The prophets are like the [a]wind [their prophecy will not come to pass],
And the word [of God] is not in them.
In this manner it will be done to them [as they prophesied, not to us].”
Judgment Proclaimed
14
Therefore, thus says the Lord God of hosts,
“Because you [people] have spoken this word,
Behold, I am making My words a fire in your mouth [Jeremiah]
And this people wood, and My words will consume them.
15
“Behold, I am bringing a nation against you from far away, O house of Israel,” says the Lord.
“It is a mighty and enduring nation,
It is an ancient nation,
A nation whose language you do not know,
Whose words you do not comprehend.
16
“Their quiver is [filled with the dead] like an open grave;
They are all mighty men [heroes of their nation].
17
“They will consume your harvest and [eat up] your bread;
They will consume your sons and your daughters;
They will consume your flocks and your herds;
They will consume your vines and your fig trees.
With the sword they will break down and demolish your fortified cities in which you trust.
18 This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, so that [inspired and aided] by them you may fight the good fight [in contending with false teachers], 19 keeping your faith [leaning completely on God with absolute trust and confidence in His guidance] and having a good conscience; for some [people] have rejected [their moral compass] and have made a shipwreck of their faith. 20 Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have [a]handed over to Satan, so that they will be disciplined and taught not to blaspheme.
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