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א (Alef)
The Prophet Speaks
4 [a] Alas![b] Gold has lost its luster;[c]
pure gold loses value.[d]
Jewels[e] are scattered
on every street corner.[f]
ב (Bet)
2 The precious sons of Zion
were worth their weight in gold—
Alas!—but now they are treated like[g] broken clay pots,
made by a potter.[h]
ג (Gimel)
3 Even the jackals[i] nurse their young
at their breast,[j]
but my people[k] are cruel,
like ostriches[l] in the wilderness.
ד (Dalet)
4 The infant’s tongue sticks
to the roof of its mouth due to thirst;
little children beg for bread,[m]
but no one gives them even a morsel.[n]
ה (He)
5 Those who once feasted on delicacies[o]
are now starving to death[p] in the streets.
Those who grew up[q] wearing expensive clothes[r]
are now dying[s] amid garbage.[t]
ו (Vav)
6 The punishment[u] of my people[v]
exceeds that of[w] Sodom,
which was overthrown in a moment
with no one to help her.[x]
ז (Zayin)
7 Our consecrated ones[y] were brighter than snow,
whiter than milk;
their bodies more ruddy than corals,
their hair[z] like lapis lazuli.[aa]
ח (Khet)
8 Now their appearance[ab] is darker than soot;
they are not recognized in the streets.
Their skin has shriveled on their bones;
it is dried up, like tree bark.
ט (Tet)
9 Those who die by the sword[ac] are better off
than those who die of hunger,[ad]
those who[ae] waste away,[af]
struck down[ag] from lack of[ah] food.[ai]
י (Yod)
10 The hands of tenderhearted women[aj]
cooked their own children,
who became their food,[ak]
when my people[al] were destroyed.[am]
כ (Kaf)
11 The Lord fully vented[an] his wrath;
he poured out his fierce anger.[ao]
He started a fire in Zion;
it consumed her foundations.[ap]
ל (Lamed)
12 Neither the kings of the earth
nor the people of the lands[aq] ever thought[ar]
that enemy or foe could enter
the gates[as] of Jerusalem.
מ (Mem)
13 But it happened[at] due to the sins of her prophets[au]
and the iniquities of her priests,
who poured out in her midst
the blood of the righteous.
נ (Nun)
14 They[av] wander blindly[aw] through the streets,
defiled by the blood they shed,[ax]
while no one dares[ay]
to touch their garments.
ס (Samek)
15 People cry to them, “Turn away! You are unclean!
Turn away! Turn away! Don’t touch us!”
So they have fled and wander about;
but the nations say,[az] “They may not stay here any longer.”
פ (Pe)
16 The Lord himself[ba] has scattered them;
he no longer watches over them.
They did not honor the priests;[bb]
they did not show favor to the elders.[bc]
ע (Ayin)
The People of Jerusalem Lament
17 Our eyes continually failed us
as we looked in vain for help.[bd]
From our watchtowers we watched
for a nation that could not rescue us.
צ (Tsade)
18 Our enemies[be] hunted us down at every step[bf]
so that we could not walk about in our streets.
Our end drew near, our days were numbered,[bg]
for our end had come!
ק (Qof)
19 Those who pursued us were swifter
than eagles[bh] in the sky.[bi]
They chased us over the mountains;
they ambushed us in the wilderness.
ר (Resh)
20 Our very life breath—the Lord’s anointed king[bj]—
was caught in their traps,[bk]
of whom we thought,[bl]
“Under his protection[bm] we will survive among the nations.”
ש (Sin/Shin)
The Prophet Speaks
21 Rejoice and be glad for now,[bn] O people of Edom,[bo]
who reside in the land of Uz.
But the cup of judgment[bp] will pass[bq] to you also;
you will get drunk and take off your clothes.
ת (Tav)
22 O people of Zion,[br] your punishment[bs] will come to an end;[bt]
he will not prolong your exile.
But, O people of Edom,[bu] he will punish your sin[bv]
and reveal your offenses!
The People of Jerusalem Pray
5 [bw] O Lord, reflect on[bx] what has happened to us;
consider[by] and look at[bz] our disgrace.
2 Our inheritance[ca] is turned over to strangers;
foreigners now occupy our homes.[cb]
3 We have become fatherless orphans;
our mothers have become widows.
4 We must pay money[cc] for our own water;[cd]
we must buy our own wood at a steep price.[ce]
5 We are pursued—they are breathing down our necks;[cf]
we are weary and have no rest.[cg]
6 We have submitted[ch] to Egypt and Assyria
in order to buy food to eat.[ci]
7 Our forefathers[cj] sinned and are dead,[ck]
but we[cl] suffer[cm] their punishment.[cn]
8 Slaves[co] rule over us;
there is no one to rescue us from their power.[cp]
9 At the risk[cq] of our lives[cr] we get our food[cs]
because robbers lurk[ct] in the wilderness.
10 Our skin is as hot as an oven
due to a fever from hunger.[cu]
11 They raped[cv] women in Zion,
virgins in the towns of Judah.
12 Princes were hung by their hands;
elders were mistreated.[cw]
13 The young men perform menial labor;[cx]
boys stagger from their labor.[cy]
14 The elders are gone from the city gate;
the young men have stopped playing their music.
15 Our hearts no longer have any joy;[cz]
our dancing is turned to mourning.
16 The crown has fallen from our head;
woe to us, for we have sinned!
17 Because of this, our hearts are sick;[da]
because of these things, we can hardly see[db] through our tears.[dc]
18 For wild animals[dd] are prowling over Mount Zion,
which lies desolate.
19 But you, O Lord, reign forever;
your throne endures from generation to generation.
20 Why do you keep on forgetting[de] us?
Why do you forsake us so long?
21 Bring us back to yourself, O Lord, so that we may return[df] to you;
renew our life[dg] as in days before,[dh]
22 unless[di] you have utterly rejected us[dj]
and are angry with us beyond measure.[dk]
Warning Against Drifting Away
2 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For if the message spoken through angels[a] proved to be so firm that every violation[b] or disobedience received its just penalty, 3 how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was first communicated through the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him, 4 while God confirmed their witness[c] with signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed[d] according to his will.
Exposition of Psalm 8: Jesus and the Destiny of Humanity
5 For he did not put the world to come,[e] about which we are speaking,[f] under the control of angels. 6 Instead someone testified somewhere:
“What is man that you think of him[g] or the son of man that you care for him?
7 You made him lower than the angels for a little while.
You crowned him with glory and honor.[h]
8 You put all things under his control.”[i]
For when he put all things under his control, he left nothing outside of his control. At present we do not yet see all things under his control,[j] 9 but we see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while,[k] now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death,[l] so that by God’s grace he would experience[m] death on behalf of everyone. 10 For it was fitting for him, for whom and through whom all things exist,[n] in bringing many sons to glory, to make the pioneer[o] of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For indeed he who makes holy and those being made holy all have the same origin,[p] and so[q] he is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,[r] 12 saying, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers;[s] in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.”[t] 13 Again he says,[u] “I will be confident in him,” and again, “Here I am,[v] with[w] the children God has given me.”[x] 14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in[y] their humanity,[z] so that through death he could destroy[aa] the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil), 15 and set free those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death. 16 For surely his concern is not for angels, but he is concerned for Abraham’s descendants. 17 Therefore he had[ab] to be made like his brothers and sisters[ac] in every respect, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God, to make atonement[ad] for the sins of the people. 18 For since he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.
Psalm 103[a]
By David.
103 Praise the Lord, O my soul.
With all that is within me, praise[b] his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Do not forget all his kind deeds.[c]
3 He is the one who forgives all your sins,
who heals all your diseases,[d]
4 who delivers[e] your life from the Pit,[f]
who crowns you with his loyal love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your life with good things,[g]
so your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.[h]
6 The Lord does what is fair,
and executes justice for all the oppressed.[i]
7 The Lord revealed his faithful acts[j] to Moses,
his deeds to the Israelites.
8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful;
he is patient[k] and demonstrates great loyal love.[l]
9 He does not always accuse,
and does not stay angry.[m]
10 He does not deal with us as our sins deserve;[n]
he does not repay us as our misdeeds deserve.[o]
11 For as the skies are high above the earth,
so his loyal love towers[p] over his faithful followers.[q]
12 As far as the eastern horizon[r] is from the west,[s]
so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions[t] from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,[u]
so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers.[v]
14 For he knows what we are made of;[w]
he realizes[x] we are made of clay.[y]
15 A person’s life is like grass.[z]
Like a flower in the field it flourishes,
16 but when the hot wind[aa] blows, it disappears,
and one can no longer even spot the place where it once grew.
17 But the Lord continually shows loyal love to his faithful followers,[ab]
and is faithful to their descendants,[ac]
18 to those who keep his covenant,
who are careful to obey his commands.[ad]
19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven;
his kingdom extends over everything.[ae]
20 Praise the Lord, you angels of his,
you powerful warriors who carry out his decrees
and obey his orders.[af]
21 Praise the Lord, all you warriors of his,[ag]
you servants of his who carry out his desires.[ah]
22 Praise the Lord, all that he has made,[ai]
in all the regions[aj] of his kingdom.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
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