Old/New Testament
Psalm 123[a]
Prayer in Time of Spiritual Need
1 A song of ascents.
I lift up my eyes to you,
to you who are enthroned in heaven.[b]
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants[c]
are on the hand of their master,
or as the eyes of a maid
focus on the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes are on the Lord, our God,
as we wait for him to show us his mercy.
3 Show us your mercy, O Lord, show us your mercy,
for we have suffered more than our share of contempt.[d]
4 We have had to suffer far too long
the insults of the haughty[e]
and the contempt of the arrogant.
Psalm 124[f]
Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Help
1 A song of ascents. Of David.
[g]If the Lord had not been on our side—
let Israel now proclaim—[h]
2 if the Lord had not been on our side
when our enemies attacked[i] us,
3 [j]then they would have swallowed us alive
as their wrath was kindled against us.
4 [k]The waters would have washed us away,
the torrent would have swept over us,
5 and we would have drowned
in the raging waters.
6 Blessed be the Lord,
who did not give us as prey to their teeth.
7 We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare was broken,
and we escaped.[l]
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.[m]
Psalm 125[n]
God, Protector of His People
1 A song of ascents.
Those who put their trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be shaken but stands fast forever.[o]
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people
both now and forevermore.[p]
3 The scepter of the wicked will not prevail
over the land allotted to the righteous,
so that the righteous will not be tempted
to turn their hands to evil.[q]
4 [r]Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
to those who are upright of heart.[s]
5 But the Lord will assign to the ranks of the evildoers
those who turn their hearts to wickedness.[t]
May peace be granted to Israel.
Chapter 10
The Lesson of Israel’s Past.[a] 1 Brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that our ancestors were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, 2 and they were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 All ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink—for they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the desert.
6 These events occurred to offer examples for us so that we might not desire evil things as they did. 7 Do not become idolaters, as some of them did. It is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to engage in revelry.”
8 Let us not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand of them died in a single day. 9 Let us not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and they were destroyed by serpents. 10 And do not complain, as some of them did, and they were slain by the Destroyer.[b] 11 All these things happened to them to serve as an example, and they have been written down as a warning to us upon whom the end of the ages has come.
12 Therefore, if you think you are standing securely, take care that you do not fall 13 No trial has confronted you except what a person can stand. God is faithful, and he will not allow you to be tried beyond your strength. But together with the trial he will also provide a way out and the strength to bear it.
14 The Eucharist Versus Pagan Sacrifices.[c] Therefore, my dear friends, avoid idolatry at all costs.[d] 15 I am talking to you as sensible people. Judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
18 Consider the people of Israel.[e] Are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar?
Copyright © 2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.