Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁴ They ^(D)utter speech, and speak insolent things;
All the workers of iniquity boast in themselves.
⁵ They break in pieces Your people, O Lord,
And afflict Your heritage.
⁶ They slay the widow and the stranger,
And murder the fatherless.
^7 (E)Yet they say, “The Lord does not see,
Nor does the God of Jacob ^[b]understand.”

⁸ Understand, you senseless among the people;
And you fools, when will you be wise?
^9 (F)He who planted the ear, shall He not hear?
He who formed the eye, shall He not see?
¹⁰ He who ^[c]instructs the ^[d]nations, shall He not correct,
He who teaches man knowledge?
¹¹ The Lord ^(G)knows the thoughts of man,
That they are futile.

¹² Blessed is the man whom You ^(H)instruct, O Lord,
And teach out of Your law,
¹³ That You may give him ^[e]rest from the days of adversity,
Until the pit is dug for the wicked.
¹⁴ For the Lord will not ^[f]cast off His people,
Nor will He forsake His inheritance.
¹⁵ But judgment will return to righteousness,
And all the upright in heart will follow it.

¹⁶ Who will rise up for me against the evildoers?
Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?
¹⁷ Unless the Lord had been my help,
My soul would soon have settled in silence.
¹⁸ If I say, “My foot slips,”
Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up.
¹⁹ In the multitude of my anxieties within me,
Your comforts delight my soul.

²⁰ Shall ^(I)the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law,
Have fellowship with You?
²¹ They gather together against the life of the righteous,
And condemn ^(J)innocent blood.
²² But the Lord has been my defense,
And my God the rock of my refuge.
²³ He has brought on them their own iniquity,
And shall ^[g]cut them off in their own wickedness;
The Lord our God shall cut them off.

²⁰ “Declare this in the house of Jacob
And proclaim it in Judah, saying,
²¹ ‘Hear this now, O ^(E)foolish people,
Without ^[b]understanding,
Who have eyes and see not,
And who have ears and hear not:
^22 (F)Do you not fear Me?’ says the Lord.
‘Will you not tremble at My presence,
Who have placed the sand as the ^(G)bound of the sea,
By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it?
And though its waves toss to and fro,
Yet they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.
²³ But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart;
They have revolted and departed.
²⁴ They do not say in their heart,
“Let us now fear the Lord our God,
^(H)Who gives rain, both the ^(I)former and the latter, in its season.
^(J)He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.”
^25 (K)Your iniquities have turned these things away,
And your sins have withheld good from you.

²⁶ ‘For among My people are found wicked men;
They ^(L)lie in wait as one who sets snares;
They set a trap;
They catch men.
²⁷ As a cage is full of birds,
So their houses are full of deceit.
Therefore they have become great and grown rich.
²⁸ They have grown ^(M)fat, they are sleek;
Yes, they ^[c]surpass the deeds of the wicked;
They do not plead ^(N)the cause,
The cause of the fatherless;
^(O)Yet they prosper,
And the right of the needy they do not defend.
^29 (P)Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the Lord.
‘Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’

³⁰ “An astonishing and ^(Q)horrible thing
Has been committed in the land:
³¹ The prophets prophesy ^(R)falsely,
And the priests rule by their own power;
And My people ^(S)love to have it so.
But what will you do in the end?