Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
23 “How I wish my words were written down,
written on a scroll.
24 I wish they were carved with an iron pen into lead,
or carved into stone forever.
25 I know that my Defender lives,
and in the end he will stand upon the earth.
26 Even after my skin has been destroyed,
in my flesh I will see God.
27 I will see him myself;
I will see him with my very own eyes.
How my heart wants that to happen!
A Prayer for Protection
A prayer of David.
17 Lord, hear me begging for fairness;
listen to my cry for help.
Pay attention to my prayer,
because I speak the truth.
2 You will judge that I am right;
your eyes can see what is true.
3 You have examined my heart;
you have tested me all night.
You questioned me without finding anything wrong;
I have not sinned with my mouth.
4 I have obeyed your commands,
so I have not done what evil people do.
5 I have done what you told me;
I have not failed.
6 I call to you, God,
and you answer me.
Listen to me now,
and hear what I say.
7 Your love is wonderful.
By your power you save those who trust you
from their enemies.
8 Protect me as you would protect your own eye.
Hide me under the shadow of your wings.
9 Keep me from the wicked who attack me,
from my enemies who surround me.
Evil Things Will Happen
2 Brothers and sisters, we have something to say about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and the time when we will meet together with him. 2 Do not become easily upset in your thinking or afraid if you hear that the day of the Lord has already come. Someone may have said this in a prophecy or in a message or in a letter as if it came from us. 3 Do not let anyone fool you in any way. That day of the Lord will not come until the turning away[a] from God happens and the Man of Evil,[b] who is on his way to hell, appears. 4 He will be against and put himself above any so-called god or anything that people worship. And that Man of Evil will even go into God’s Temple and sit there and say that he is God.
5 I told you when I was with you that all this would happen. Do you not remember?
You Are Chosen for Salvation
13 Brothers and sisters, whom the Lord loves, God chose you from the beginning[a] to be saved. So we must always thank God for you. You are saved by the Spirit that makes you holy and by your faith in the truth. 14 God used the Good News that we preached to call you to be saved so you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So, brothers and sisters, stand strong and continue to believe the teachings we gave you in our speaking and in our letter.
16-17 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father encourage you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say. God loved us, and through his grace he gave us a good hope and encouragement that continues forever.
Some Sadducees Try to Trick Jesus
27 Some Sadducees, who believed people would not rise from the dead, came to Jesus. 28 They asked, “Teacher, Moses wrote that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, then that man must marry the widow and have children for his brother. 29 Once there were seven brothers. The first brother married and died, but had no children. 30 Then the second brother married the widow, and he died. 31 And the third brother married the widow, and he died. The same thing happened with all seven brothers; they died and had no children. 32 Finally, the woman died also. 33 Since all seven brothers had married her, whose wife will she be when people rise from the dead?”
34 Jesus said to them, “On earth, people marry and are given to someone to marry. 35 But those who will be worthy to be raised from the dead and live again will not marry, nor will they be given to someone to marry. 36 In that life they are like angels and cannot die. They are children of God, because they have been raised from the dead. 37 Even Moses clearly showed that the dead are raised to life. When he wrote about the burning bush,[a] he said that the Lord is ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’[b] 38 God is the God of the living, not the dead, because all people are alive to him.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.