Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
81 [a]My soul[b] pines for your salvation without ceasing;
I place my hope in your word.
82 My eyes fail,[c] looking for your word,
and I cry out, “When will you comfort me?”
83 I am shriveled like a smoke-filled wineskin,[d]
but I do not forget your decrees.
84 How long must your servant wait?[e]
When will you pass judgment on my persecutors?
85 The arrogant[f] dig pits to entrap me,
which is not in keeping with your law.
86 All of your precepts are true;
come to my aid, for I am persecuted unjustly.
87 My enemies almost took away my life,
but I have not forsaken your commands.
88 In your kindness[g] spare my life,
and I will obey the statutes of your mouth.
Lamedh
8 But as for you, son of man, listen to what I say to you and do not be rebellious like that rebellious tribe. Open your mouth and eat what I am about to give you.
9 I saw a hand stretched out to me, and in it was a written scroll. 10 He unrolled it in front of me. It had writing on the front and on the back, and written on it were words, of lamentation and dirges and woe.
Chapter 3
1 He said to me: Son of man, eat what is in front of you. Eat this scroll, and then go forth to speak to the house of Israel. 2 Therefore, I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. 3 He said to me: Son of man, eat this scroll that I have given you, and eat your fill. Then I consumed it, and in my mouth it was as sweet as honey.
4 He then said to me: Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and deliver my message to them. 5 For you are not being sent to a people that speaks a difficult and barbaric language, but to the house of Israel. 6 I am not sending you to great nations, whose speech you would not be able to comprehend, although they would listen to what you had to say.
7 However, the house of Israel will not listen to you because it would not listen to me. The whole house of Israel is defiant and obstinate in heart. 8 But I will make you as defiant and obstinate as they are. 9 I will make your resolve as hard as a diamond. I have made your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not fear them, or be concerned about their appearance, for they are a rebellious house.
10 He went on: Listen carefully, son of man, to all my words. Receive them into your heart and hear them with your ears. 11 Then go to your countrymen in exile and say to them, “Thus says the Lord,” whether they listen or refuse to listen.
16 Paul’s Boast. I repeat: let no one take me for a fool. However, if you do, then treat me like a fool and let me boast a little. 17 In saying this, I am not speaking according to the Lord but out of foolishness in the conviction that I have something to boast about. 18 Since many boast of their human accomplishments, I will do likewise.
19 Since you are wise yourselves, you gladly put up with fools! 20 For you endure it if someone makes slaves of you, or robs you of all you possess, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or slaps you in the face. 21 To my shame, I must admit that we have been too weak for that sort of thing!
But whatever anyone dares to boast of—I am speaking out of foolishness—I also dare to boast of. 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham?[a] So am I. 23 Are they ministers of Christ?[b] (I am talking now like a madman.) I am too, having endured far greater labors, far more imprisonments, far harsher scourgings, and far more brushes with death.
24 Five times I received from the Jews forty lashes minus one.[c] 25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; once I was adrift in the open sea for a night and a day. 26 I have traveled continually and faced dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the desert, dangers at sea, and dangers from false brethren.
27 I have endured toil and hardship, and sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty, and I have often gone without food. I have been cold, and often all but naked.
28 Apart from these external things, I am burdened each and every day with the anxiety of caring for all the Churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not similarly afflicted? Who is led into sinfulness, and I am not filled with indignation?
30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that exhibit my weakness. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus knows—he who is blessed forever—that I am telling the truth. 32 When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas[d] assigned guards around the city of Damascus in order to arrest me. 33 However, I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and I thereby escaped from his clutches.
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