Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
19 O Lord, don't stay away from me!
Come quickly to my rescue!
20 Save me from the sword;
save my life from these dogs.
21 Rescue me from these lions;
I am helpless[a] before these wild bulls.
22 (A)I will tell my people what you have done;
I will praise you in their assembly:
23 “Praise him, you servants of the Lord!
Honor him, you descendants of Jacob!
Worship him, you people of Israel!
24 He does not neglect the poor or ignore their suffering;
he does not turn away from them,
but answers when they call for help.”
25 In the full assembly I will praise you for what you have done;
in the presence of those who worship you
I will offer the sacrifices I promised.
26 The poor will eat as much as they want;
those who come to the Lord will praise him.
May they prosper forever!
27 All nations will remember the Lord.
From every part of the world they will turn to him;
all races will worship him.
28 The Lord is king,
and he rules the nations.
The Prophet Condemns the People's Sins
59 Don't think that the Lord is too weak to save you or too deaf to hear your call for help! 2 It is because of your sins that he doesn't hear you. It is your sins that separate you from God when you try to worship him. 3 You are guilty of lying, violence, and murder.
4 You go to court, but you do not have justice on your side. You depend on lies to win your case. You carry out your plans to hurt others. 5-6 The evil plots you make are as deadly as the eggs of a poisonous snake. Crush an egg, out comes a snake! But your plots will do you no good—they are as useless as clothing made of cobwebs! 7 (A)You are always planning something evil, and you can hardly wait to do it. You never hesitate to murder innocent people. You leave ruin and destruction wherever you go, 8 and no one is safe when you are around. Everything you do is unjust. You follow a crooked path, and no one who walks that path will ever be safe.
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
27 Jesus left that place, and as he walked along, two blind men started following him. “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” they shouted.
28 When Jesus had gone indoors, the two blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I can heal you?”
“Yes, sir!” they answered.
29 Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, “Let it happen, then, just as you believe!”— 30 and their sight was restored. Jesus spoke sternly to them, “Don't tell this to anyone!”
31 But they left and spread the news about Jesus all over that part of the country.
Jesus Heals a Man Who Could Not Speak
32 As the men were leaving, some people brought to Jesus a man who could not talk because he had a demon. 33 But as soon as the demon was driven out, the man started talking, and everyone was amazed. “We have never seen anything like this in Israel!” they exclaimed.
34 (A)But the Pharisees said, “It is the chief of the demons who gives Jesus the power to drive out demons.”
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.