Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 53[a]
For the music director, according to the machalath style;[b] a well-written song[c] by David.
53 Fools say to themselves,[d] “There is no God.”[e]
They sin and commit evil deeds;[f]
none of them does what is right.[g]
2 God looks down from heaven[h] at the human race,[i]
to see if there is anyone who is wise[j] and seeks God.[k]
3 Everyone rejects God;[l]
they are all morally corrupt.[m]
None of them does what is right,[n]
not even one!
4 All those who behave wickedly[o] do not understand[p]—
those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,
and do not call out to God.
5 They are absolutely terrified,[q]
even by things that do not normally cause fear.[r]
For God annihilates[s] those who attack you.[t]
You are able to humiliate them because God has rejected them.[u]
6 I wish the deliverance[v] of Israel would come from Zion!
When God restores the well-being of his people,[w]
may Jacob rejoice,[x]
may Israel be happy![y]
Regulations for the Sabbatical Year
25 The Lord spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai: 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land must observe a Sabbath[a] to the Lord. 3 Six years you may sow your field, and six years you may prune your vineyard and gather the produce,[b] 4 but in the seventh year the land must have a Sabbath of complete rest[c]—a Sabbath to the Lord. You must not sow your field or[d] prune your vineyard. 5 You must not gather in the aftergrowth of your harvest and you must not pick the grapes of your unpruned vines;[e] the land must have a year of complete rest. 6 You may have the Sabbath produce[f] of the land to eat—you, your male servant, your female servant, your hired worker, the resident foreigner who stays with you,[g] 7 your cattle, and the wild animals that are in your land—all its produce will be for you[h] to eat.
Regulations for the Jubilee Year of Release
8 “‘You must count off[i] seven weeks of years, seven times seven years,[j] and the days of the seven weeks of years will amount to forty-nine years.[k] 9 You must sound loud horn blasts[l]—in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, on the Day of Atonement—you must sound the horn in your entire land. 10 So you must consecrate the fiftieth year,[m] and you must proclaim a release[n] in the land for all its inhabitants. That year will be your Jubilee;[o] each one of you must return[p] to his property and each one of you must return to his clan. 11 That fiftieth year will be your Jubilee; you must not sow the land, harvest its aftergrowth, or pick the grapes of its unpruned vines.[q] 12 Because that year is a Jubilee, it will be holy to you—you may eat its produce[r] from the field.
Release of Landed Property
13 “‘In this Year of Jubilee you must each return[s] to your property. 14 If you make a sale[t] to your fellow citizen[u] or buy[v] from your fellow citizen, no one is to wrong his brother.[w] 15 You may buy it from your fellow citizen according to the number of years since[x] the last Jubilee; he may sell it to you according to the years of produce that are left.[y] 16 The more years there are,[z] the more you may make its purchase price, and the fewer years there are,[aa] the less you must make its purchase price, because he is only selling to you a number of years of[ab] produce. 17 No one is to oppress his fellow citizen,[ac] but you must fear your God, because I am the Lord your God. 18 You must obey my statutes and my regulations; you must be sure to keep them[ad] so that you may live securely in the land.[ae]
19 “‘The land will give its fruit and you may eat until you are satisfied,[af] and you may live securely in the land.
9 Then[a] the angel[b] said to me, “Write the following: Blessed are those who are invited to the banquet at the wedding celebration of the Lamb!” He also said to me, “These are the true words of God.” 10 So[c] I threw myself down[d] at his feet to worship him, but[e] he said, “Do not do this![f] I am only[g] a fellow servant[h] with you and your brothers and sisters[i] who hold to the testimony about[j] Jesus. Worship God, for the testimony about Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
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