Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Morning Prayer for Protection
For the director of music. For flutes. A psalm of David.
5 Lord, listen to my words.
Understand my sadness.
2 Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
because I pray to you.
3 Lord, every morning you hear my voice.
Every morning, I tell you what I need,
and I wait for your answer.
4 You are not a God who is pleased with the wicked;
you do not live with those who do evil.
5 Those people who make fun of you cannot stand before you.
You hate all those who do evil.
6 You destroy liars;
the Lord hates those who kill and trick others.
7 Because of your great love,
I can come into your Temple.
Because I fear and respect you,
I can worship in your holy Temple.
8 Lord, since I have many enemies,
show me the right thing to do.
Show me clearly how you want me to live.
9 My enemies’ mouths do not tell the truth;
in their hearts they want to destroy others.
Their throats are like open graves;
they use their tongues for telling lies.
10 God, declare them guilty!
Let them fall into their own traps.
Send them away because their sins are many;
they have turned against you.
11 But let everyone who trusts you be happy;
let them sing glad songs forever.
Protect those who love you
and who are happy because of you.
12 Lord, you bless those who do what is right;
you protect them like a soldier’s shield.
All Nations Will Obey the Lord
56 This is what the Lord says:
“Give justice to all people,
and do what is right,
because my salvation will come to you soon.
Soon everyone will know that I do what is right.
2 The person who obeys the law about the Sabbath
will be blessed,
and the person who does no evil
will be blessed.”
3 Foreigners who have joined the Lord should not say,
“The Lord will not accept me with his people.”
The eunuch should not say,
“Because I cannot have children, the Lord will not accept me.”
4 This is what the Lord says:
“The eunuchs should obey the law about the Sabbath
and do what I want
and keep my agreement.
5 If they do, I will make their names remembered
within my Temple and its walls.
It will be better for them than children.
I will give them a name that will last forever,
that will never be forgotten.
6 Foreigners will join the Lord
to worship him and love him,
to serve him,
to obey the law about the Sabbath,
and to keep my agreement.
7 I will bring these people to my holy mountain
and give them joy in my house of prayer.
The offerings and sacrifices
they place on my altar will please me,
because my Temple will be called
a house for prayer for people from all nations.”
8 The Lord God says—
he who gathers the Israelites that were forced to leave their country:
“I will bring together other people
to join those who are already gathered.”
Jesus Helps a Non-Jewish Woman
24 Jesus left that place and went to the area around Tyre.[a] When he went into a house, he did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not stay hidden. 25 A woman whose daughter had an evil spirit in her heard that he was there. So she quickly came to Jesus and fell at his feet. 26 She was Greek, born in Phoenicia, in Syria. She begged Jesus to force the demon out of her daughter.
27 Jesus told the woman, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs. First let the children eat all they want.”
28 But she answered, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table can eat the children’s crumbs.”
29 Then Jesus said, “Because of your answer, you may go. The demon has left your daughter.”
30 The woman went home and found her daughter lying in bed; the demon was gone.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.