Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Teth.
65 You have dealt well with Your servant,
O Lord, according to Your word.
66 Teach me good [a](A)discernment and knowledge,
For I believe in Your commandments.
67 (B)Before I was afflicted I went astray,
But now I keep Your word.
68 You are (C)good and (D)do good;
(E)Teach me Your statutes.
69 The arrogant [b]have (F)forged a lie against me;
With all my heart I will (G)observe Your precepts.
70 Their heart is [c](H)covered with fat,
But I (I)delight in Your law.
71 It is (J)good for me that I was afflicted,
That I may learn Your statutes.
72 The (K)law of Your mouth is better to me
Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
14 And it will be said,
“(A)Build up, build up, prepare the way,
Remove every obstacle out of the way of My people.”
15 For thus says the (B)high and exalted One
Who [a](C)lives forever, whose name is Holy,
“I (D)dwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the (E)contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to (F)revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.
16 “For I will (G)not contend forever,
(H)Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would grow faint before Me,
And the (I)breath of those whom I have made.
17 “Because of the iniquity of his (J)unjust gain I was angry and struck him;
I hid My face and was angry,
And he went on (K)turning away, in the way of his heart.
18 “I have seen his ways, but I will (L)heal him;
I will (M)lead him and (N)restore comfort to him and to his mourners,
19 Creating the [b](O)praise of the lips.
(P)Peace, peace to him who is (Q)far and to him who is near,”
Says the Lord, “and I will heal him.”
20 But the (R)wicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up refuse and mud.
21 “(S)There is no peace,” says (T)my God, “for the wicked.”
15 When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “(A)Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
Parable of the Dinner
16 But He said to him, “(B)A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; 17 and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a [a]piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; [b]please consider me excused.’ 19 Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; [c]please consider me excused.’ 20 Another one said, ‘(C)I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ 21 And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.’”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.