Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Rebellious People
65 “I permitted Myself to be sought by (A)those who did not ask for Me;
I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’
To a nation which (B)did not call on My name.
2 “(C)I have spread out My hands all day long to a (D)rebellious people,
Who walk in the way which is not good, [a]following their own (E)thoughts,
3 A people who continually (F)provoke Me to My face,
Offering sacrifices in (G)gardens and (H)burning incense on bricks;
4 Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places;
Who (I)eat swine’s flesh,
And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots.
5 “Who say, ‘(J)Keep to yourself, do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
These are smoke in My [b]nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.
6 “Behold, it is written before Me,
I will (K)not keep silent, but (L)I will repay;
I will even repay into their bosom,
7 Both [c]their own (M)iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers together,” says the Lord.
“Because they have (N)burned incense on the mountains
And (O)scorned Me on the hills,
Therefore I will (P)measure their former work into their bosom.”
8 Thus says the Lord,
“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is [d]benefit in it,’
So I will act on behalf of My servants
In order (Q)not to destroy [e]all of them.
9 “I will bring forth (R)offspring from Jacob,
And an (S)heir of My mountains from Judah;
Even (T)My chosen ones shall inherit it,
And (U)My servants will dwell there.
19 But You, O Lord, (A)be not far off;
O You my help, (B)hasten to my assistance.
20 Deliver my [a]soul from (C)the sword,
My (D)only life from the [b]power of the dog.
21 Save me from the (E)lion’s mouth;
From the horns of the (F)wild oxen You (G)answer me.
22 I will (H)tell of Your name to my brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23 (I)You who fear the Lord, praise Him;
All you [c]descendants of Jacob, (J)glorify Him,
And (K)stand in awe of Him, all you [d]descendants of Israel.
24 For He has (L)not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He (M)hidden His face from him;
But (N)when he cried to Him for help, He heard.
25 From You comes (O)my praise in the great assembly;
I shall (P)pay my vows before those who fear Him.
26 The [e]afflicted will eat and (Q)be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will (R)praise the Lord.
Let your (S)heart live forever!
27 All the (T)ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the (U)families of the nations will worship before [f]You.
28 For the (V)kingdom is the Lord’s
And He (W)rules over the nations.
23 But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, (A)being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our (B)tutor to lead us to Christ, so that (C)we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a [a](D)tutor. 26 For you are all (E)sons of God through faith in (F)Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were (G)baptized into Christ have (H)clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 (I)There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is [b]neither male nor female; for (J)you are all one in (K)Christ Jesus. 29 And if (L)you [c]belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s [d]descendants, heirs according to (M)promise.
The Demoniac Cured
26 (A)Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 And when He came out onto the land, He was met by a man from the city who was possessed with demons; and who had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs. 28 Seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, “[a](B)What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of (C)the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.” 29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert. 30 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “(D)Legion”; for many demons had entered him. 31 They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into (E)the abyss.
32 Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain; and the demons implored Him to permit them to enter [b]the swine. And He gave them permission. 33 And the demons came out of the man and entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into (F)the lake and was drowned.
34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported it in the city and out in the country. 35 The people went out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down (G)at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened. 36 Those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was (H)demon-possessed had been [c]made well. 37 And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, for they were gripped with great fear; and He got into a boat and returned. 38 (I)But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might [d]accompany Him; but He sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
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