Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Davidic
Praise God, who Forgives
103 Bless the Lord, my soul,
and all that is within me, bless[a] his holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, my soul,
and never forget any of his benefits:
3 He continues to forgive all your sins,
he continues to heal all your diseases,
4 he continues to redeem your life from the Pit,[b]
and he continuously surrounds you
with gracious love and compassion.
5 He keeps satisfying you with good things,
and he keeps renewing your youth like the eagle’s.
6 The Lord continuously does what is right,
executing justice for all who are being oppressed.
7 He revealed his plans[c] to Moses
and his deeds to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
patient,[d] and abundantly rich in gracious love.
9 He does not maintain a dispute[e] continuously
or remain angry for all time.
10 He neither deals with us according to our sins,
nor repays us equivalent to our iniquity.
11 As high as heaven rises above earth,
so his gracious love strengthens[f] those who fear him.
12 As distant as the east is from the west,
that is how far he has removed our sins from us.
13 As a father has compassion for his children,
so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
22 Bless the Lord, all his creation,[a]
in all the places of his dominion.
Bless the Lord, my soul.
A Change in Circumstances
53 “I’ll bring them back from their captivity—that is, from the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, along with the captivity of Samaria and her daughters and the captivity of your captives among them. 54 But you’ll continue to bear your own reproach and be humiliated for everything that you’ve done. You’ll be a comfort to them. 55 Your sister Sodom and her daughters will be restored to their former status. Samaria and her daughters will be restored to their former status. Then you and your daughters will be restored to your former status.
56 “When you were being so arrogant, you never once mentioned your sister Sodom 57 before your wickedness was revealed. Now you’ve become an object of derision to the inhabitants[a] of Aram and its neighbors, including the Philistines[b]—all those around you who despise you. 58 You are to bear the punishment of your wickedness and detestable practices,” declares the Lord, 59 “since the Lord God says, ‘I’ll deal with you according to what you’ve done, when you despised your oath by breaking the covenant.
60 “‘Meanwhile, as for me, I’ll remember my covenant with you from when you were young, because I’ll establish an eternal covenant with you. 61 Then you’ll remember your behavior and be ashamed when you greet your sisters—your elder sister and your younger sister. I’ll give them to you as daughters, but not on account of my covenant with you. 62 I’ll establish my covenant with you, and then you’ll know that I am the Lord. 63 Then you will remember, be ashamed, and you won’t open your mouth anymore due to humiliation when I will have made atonement for you for everything that you’ve done,’ declares the Lord God.”
53 Then all of them went to their own homes.
The Woman Caught in Adultery
8 Jesus, however, went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At daybreak he appeared again in the Temple, and all the people came to him. So he sat down and began to teach them. 3 But the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery.[a] After setting her before them,[b] 4 they told him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the very act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women to death. What do you say?” 6 They said this to test him, so that they might have a charge against him. But Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.
7 When they persisted in questioning him, he straightened up and told them, “Let the person among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Then he bent down again and continued writing on the ground.[c] 9 When they heard this, they went away one by one,[d] beginning with the oldest,[e] and he was left alone with the woman standing there.[f] 10 Then Jesus stood up and asked her, “Dear lady,[g] where are your accusers?[h] Hasn’t anyone condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,”[i] she replied.
Then Jesus said, “I don’t condemn you, either. Go home, and from now on don’t sin anymore.”[j]
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