Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Prayer to Be Kept Safe

43 Stand by me, O God, and speak in my favor against a sinful nation. Save me from the lying and sinful man. ² For You are the God of my strength. Why have You turned away from me? Why do I have sorrow because those who hate me come against me with power?

³ Send out Your light and Your truth. Let them lead me. Let them bring me to Your holy hill and to the places where You live. ⁴ Then I will go to the altar of God, the God of my joy. And I will praise You with the harp, O God, my God.

⁵ Why are you sad, O my soul? Why have you become troubled within me? Hope in God, for I will praise Him again, my help and my God.

²⁷ Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says. ‘Did I not let Myself be known to those of your father’s family when they were in Egypt being made to work for Pharaoh’s house? ²⁸ Did I not choose them from all the families of Israel to be My religious leaders, to go up to My altar, to burn special perfume, and to wear a linen vest before Me? Did I not give all the gifts made by fire of the people of Israel to the family of your father? ²⁹ Why do you show no respect to My gifts which I have asked for, and honor your sons more than Me? You make yourselves fat with the best part of every gift given in worship by My people Israel.’ ³⁰ So the Lord God of Israel says, ‘I did promise that those of your family and the family of your father should walk before Me forever.’ But now the Lord says, ‘May this be far from Me. For I will honor those who honor Me. And those who hate Me will not be honored. ³¹ See, the days are coming when I will break your strength and the strength of your father’s family. So there will not be an old man in your family. ³² You will see the trouble of My family, even in all the good I do for Israel. And an old man will not be in your family forever. ³³ But I will not destroy every man of yours from My altar. Some will be left to cry and be filled with sorrow. But all the children of your family will die in their best years. ³⁴ This will be the special thing that you will see. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will both die on the same day. ³⁵ I will raise up for Myself a faithful religious leader who will act by what is in My heart and mind. I will build him a family to last. And he will walk before My chosen one forever. ³⁶ Everyone who is left in your family will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread, and say, “I beg you, put me in one of the religious leader’s places so that I may eat a piece of bread.”’”

¹⁷ You are a Jew and think you are safe because of the Law. You tell others about how you know God. ¹⁸ You know what He wants you to do. You understand how the Law works. You know right from wrong. ¹⁹ You think you can lead a blind man. You think you can give light to those in darkness. ²⁰ You think you can teach foolish people and children about God. You have in the Law the plan of truth and wisdom. ²¹ You teach others. Why do you not teach yourselves? You tell others not to steal. Do you steal? ²² You say that no one should do sex sins. Do you do sex sins? You hate false gods. Do you rob the houses where they are kept? ²³ You are proud of the Law. Do you take honor away from God when you do not obey the Law? ²⁴ The Holy Writings say, “God’s name is hated by the people who are not Jews because of you.” ^(A)

²⁵ Going through the religious act of becoming a Jew is worth something if you obey the Law. If you do not obey the Law, it is worth nothing to you. ²⁶ If a person who is not a Jew and has not gone through the act of becoming a Jew, obeys the Law, God will think of him as a Jew. ²⁷ You Jews have the Law but do not obey it. You have gone through the religious act also. At the same time those who are not Jews obey the Law even if they have not gone through the religious act of becoming a Jew. In this way, these people show you are guilty. ²⁸ A man is not a Jew just because he goes through the religious act of becoming a Jew. ²⁹ The true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. The religious act of becoming a Jew must be done in the heart. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. The Law does not do that kind of work. The true Jew gets his thanks from God, not from men.