God the Righteous Judge

A Psalm of Asaph.

50 The (A)Mighty One, God the Lord,
Has spoken and called the earth
From the rising of the sun to its going down.
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
(B)God will shine forth.
Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent;
(C)A fire shall devour before Him,
And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.

(D)He shall call to the heavens from above,
And to the earth, that He may judge His people:
“Gather (E)My saints together to Me,
(F)Those who have [a]made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”
Let the (G)heavens declare His righteousness,
For (H)God Himself is Judge. Selah

“Hear, O My people, and I will speak,
O Israel, and I will testify against you;
(I)I am God, your God!
(J)I will not [b]rebuke you (K)for your sacrifices
Or your burnt offerings,
Which are continually before Me.
(L)I will not take a bull from your house,
Nor goats out of your folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is Mine,
And the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the mountains,
And the wild beasts of the field are Mine.

12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you;
(M)For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.
13 (N)Will I eat the flesh of bulls,
Or drink the blood of goats?
14 (O)Offer to God thanksgiving,
And (P)pay your vows to the Most High.
15 (Q)Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”

16 But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to declare My statutes,
Or take My covenant in your mouth,
17 (R)Seeing you hate instruction
And cast My words behind you?
18 When you saw a thief, you (S)consented[c] with him,
And have been a (T)partaker with adulterers.
19 You give your mouth to evil,
And (U)your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
21 These things you have done, and I kept silent;
(V)You thought that I was altogether like you;
But I will rebuke you,
And (W)set them in order before your eyes.

22 “Now consider this, you who (X)forget God,
Lest I tear you in pieces,
And there be none to deliver:
23 Whoever offers praise glorifies Me;
And (Y)to him who orders his conduct aright
I will show the salvation of God.”

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 50:5 Lit. cut
  2. Psalm 50:8 reprove
  3. Psalm 50:18 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. ran

Vision of the Lampstand and Olive Trees

Now (A)the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, (B)as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, “What do you see?”

So I said, “I am looking, and there is (C)a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, (D)and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. (E)Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.” So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?”

Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?”

And I said, “No, my lord.”

So he answered and said to me:

“This is the word of the Lord to (F)Zerubbabel:
(G)‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
Says the Lord of hosts.
‘Who are you, (H)O great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!
And he shall bring forth (I)the capstone
(J)With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ”

Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

“The hands of Zerubbabel
(K)Have laid the foundation of this [a]temple;
His hands (L)shall also finish it.
Then (M)you will know
That the (N)Lord of hosts has sent Me to you.
10 For who has despised the day of (O)small things?
For these seven rejoice to see
The [b]plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.
(P)They are the eyes of the Lord,
Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.”

11 Then I answered and said to him, “What are these (Q)two olive trees—at the right of the lampstand and at its left?” 12 And I further answered and said to him, “What are these two olive branches that drip [c]into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?”

13 Then he answered me and said, “Do you not know what these are?

And I said, “No, my lord.”

14 So he said, (R)“These are the two [d]anointed ones, (S)who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.”

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 4:9 Lit. house
  2. Zechariah 4:10 Lit. plummet stone
  3. Zechariah 4:12 Lit. into the hands of
  4. Zechariah 4:14 Lit. sons of fresh oil

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