Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God of Vengeance, Shine Forth
94 O Yahweh, God of [a](A)vengeance,
God of [b]vengeance, [c](B)shine forth!
2 (C)Be lifted up, O (D)Judge of the earth,
Render recompense (E)to the proud.
3 How long shall the wicked, O Yahweh,
How long shall the (F)wicked exult?
4 They pour forth words, they (G)speak arrogantly;
All workers of iniquity (H)vaunt themselves.
5 They (I)crush Your people, O Yahweh,
And (J)afflict Your inheritance.
6 They (K)slay the widow and the sojourner
And murder the orphans.
7 (L)They have said, “Yah does not see,
Nor does the God of Jacob discern.”
8 Discern, you (M)senseless among the people;
And when will you have insight, (N)you fools?
9 He who (O)planted the ear, [d]does He not hear?
He who formed the eye, [e]does He not see?
10 He who [f](P)disciplines the nations, will He not rebuke,
Even He who (Q)teaches man knowledge?
11 Yahweh (R)knows the thoughts of man,
[g]That they are vanity.
12 Blessed is the man whom (S)You discipline, O Yah,
And (T)whom You teach out of Your law;
13 That You may grant him (U)calm from the (V)days of calamity,
Until (W)a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For (X)Yahweh will not abandon His people,
Nor will He (Y)forsake His inheritance.
15 For [h](Z)judgment will [i]again be righteous,
And all the upright in heart will [j]follow it.
16 Who will (AA)arise for me against evildoers?
Who will take his stand for me (AB)against workers of iniquity?
17 If (AC)Yahweh had not been my help,
My soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence.
18 If I should say, “(AD)My foot has stumbled,”
Your lovingkindness, O Yahweh, will hold me up.
19 When my anxious thoughts [k]multiply within me,
Your (AE)consolations delight my soul.
20 Can a [l](AF)throne of destruction be allied with You,
One (AG)which forms [m]trouble by statute?
21 They (AH)band themselves together against the [n]life of the righteous
And (AI)condemn [o]the innocent to death.
22 But Yahweh has been my (AJ)stronghold,
And my God the (AK)rock of my refuge.
23 He has (AL)brought back their [p]iniquity upon them
And will [q](AM)destroy them in their evil;
Yahweh our God will [r]destroy them.
Jerusalem Refuses to Repent
5 “(A)Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
And see now and know,
And seek in her open squares,
If you can (B)find a man,
(C)If there is one who does justice, who seeks faithfulness,
Then I will pardon her.
2 And (D)if they say, ‘As Yahweh lives,’
Then they swear to a lie.”
3 O Yahweh, do not (E)Your eyes look for faithfulness?
You have (F)struck them,
But they did not [a]weaken;
You have consumed them,
But they (G)refused to receive discipline.
They have (H)made their faces stronger than rock;
They have refused to [b]repent.
4 Then I said, “They are only the poor;
They are foolish;
For they (I)do not know the way of Yahweh
Or the legal judgment of their God.
5 Let me go to the great
And let me speak to them,
For (J)they know the way of Yahweh
And the legal judgment of their God.”
But they too, altogether, have (K)broken the yoke
And torn apart the bonds.
6 Therefore (L)a lion from the forest will strike them down;
A (M)wolf of the deserts will devastate them;
A (N)leopard is watching their cities.
Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces
Because their (O)transgressions are many;
Their acts of faithlessness are mighty.
7 “Why should I pardon you?
Your sons have forsaken Me
And (P)sworn by those who are (Q)not gods.
I had satisfied them to the full,
Then they (R)committed adultery
And trooped to the harlot’s house.
8 They were well-fed lusty horses,
Each one neighing after his (S)neighbor’s wife.
9 Shall I not punish [c]these people,” declares Yahweh,
“And on a nation such as this
(T)Shall I not avenge Myself?
10 “Go up through her vine rows and make them a ruin,
But do not make a complete destruction;
Remove her branches,
For they are not Yahweh’s.
11 For the (U)house of Israel and the house of Judah
Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” declares Yahweh.
12 They have (V)dealt falsely about Yahweh
And said, “[d](W)Not He;
Calamity will (X)not come on us,
And we (Y)will not see sword or famine.
13 The (Z)prophets are as wind,
And the word is not in them.
Thus it will be done to them!”
A Stubborn and Rebellious People
14 Therefore, thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts,
“Because you have spoken this word,
Behold, I am (AA)making My words in your mouth fire
And this people wood, and it will devour them.
15 Behold, I am (AB)bringing a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,” declares Yahweh.
“It is an enduring nation;
It is an ancient nation,
A nation whose (AC)tongue you do not know,
Nor can you [e]understand what they say.
16 Their (AD)quiver is like an (AE)open grave;
All of them are mighty men.
17 They will (AF)devour your harvest and your food;
They will devour your sons and your daughters;
They will devour your flocks and your herds;
They will devour your (AG)vines and your fig trees;
They will demolish with the sword your (AH)fortified cities in which you trust.
18 This (A)command I entrust to you, Timothy, (B)my child, in accordance with the (C)prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may (D)fight the good fight, 19 keeping (E)faith and a good conscience, which some, having rejected, suffered shipwreck in regard to [a](F)their faith. 20 [b]Among these are (G)Hymenaeus and (H)Alexander, whom I have (I)handed over to Satan, so that they will be (J)taught not to blaspheme.
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