Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord Exalts the Humble.
113 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
(A)Praise, O (B)servants of the Lord,
Praise the name of the Lord.
2 (C)Blessed be the name of the Lord
From this time forth and forever.
3 (D)From the rising of the sun to its setting
The (E)name of the Lord is to be praised.
4 The Lord is (F)high above all nations;
His (G)glory is above the heavens.
5 (H)Who is like the Lord our God,
Who (I)is enthroned on high,
6 Who [c](J)humbles Himself to behold
The things that are in heaven and in the earth?
7 He (K)raises the poor from the dust
And lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 To make them (L)sit with [d]princes,
With the [e]princes of His people.
9 He (M)makes the barren woman abide in the house
As a joyful mother of children.
[f]Praise [g]the Lord!
Woes for the Wicked
8 Woe to those who (A)add house to house and join field to field,
Until there is no more room,
So that you have to live alone in the midst of the land!
9 In my ears the Lord of hosts has sworn, “Surely, (B)many houses shall become (C)desolate,
Even great and fine ones, without occupants.
10 “For (D)ten acres of vineyard will yield only one [a]bath of wine,
And a (E)homer of seed will yield but an [b]ephah of grain.”
11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue (F)strong drink,
Who stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them!
12 Their banquets are accompanied by lyre and (G)harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine;
But they (H)do not pay attention to the deeds of the Lord,
Nor do they consider the work of His hands.
13 Therefore My people go into exile for their (I)lack of knowledge;
And [c]their (J)honorable men are famished,
And their multitude is parched with thirst.
14 Therefore (K)Sheol has enlarged its [d]throat and opened its mouth without measure;
And [e]Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her din of revelry and the jubilant within her, descend into it.
15 So the common man will be humbled and the man of importance abased,
(L)The eyes of the proud also will be abased.
16 But the (M)Lord of hosts will be (N)exalted in judgment,
And the holy God will show Himself (O)holy in righteousness.
17 (P)Then the lambs will graze as in their pasture,
And strangers will eat in the waste places of the [f]wealthy.
18 Woe to those who drag (Q)iniquity with the cords of [g]falsehood,
And sin as if with cart ropes;
19 (R)Who say, “Let Him make speed, let Him hasten His work, that we may see it;
And let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near
And come to pass, that we may know it!”
20 Woe to those who (S)call evil good, and good evil;
Who [h](T)substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who [i]substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe to those who are (U)wise in their own eyes
And clever in their own sight!
22 (V)Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine
And valiant men in mixing strong drink,
23 (W)Who justify the wicked for a bribe,
And (X)take away the [j]rights of the ones who are in the right!
The Widow’s Mite
41 (A)And He sat down opposite (B)the treasury, and began observing how the people were (C)putting [a]money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two [b]small copper coins, which amount to a [c]cent. 43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all [d]the contributors to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their [e]surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, [f]all she had (D)to live on.”
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