Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for Safety
A maskil of David when he was in the cave. A prayer.
142 I cry out to the Lord;
I pray to the Lord for mercy.
2 I pour out my problems to him;
I tell him my troubles.
3 When I am afraid,
you, Lord, know the way out.
In the path where I walk,
a trap is hidden for me.
4 Look around me and see.
No one cares about me.
I have no place of safety;
no one cares if I live.
5 Lord, I cry out to you.
I say, “You are my protection.
You are all I want in this life.”
6 Listen to my cry,
because I am helpless.
Save me from those who are chasing me,
because they are too strong for me.
7 Free me from my prison,
and then I will praise your name.
Then good people will surround me,
because you have taken care of me.
The Lord Promises to Restore Israel
11 “The kingdom of David is like a fallen tent,
but in that day I will set it up again
and mend its broken places.
I will rebuild its ruins
as it was before.
12 Then Israel will take over what is left of Edom
and the other nations that belong to me,”
says the Lord,
who will make it happen.
13 The Lord says, “The time is coming when there will be all kinds of food.
People will still be harvesting crops
when it’s time to plow again.
People will still be taking the juice from grapes
when it’s time to plant again.
Wine will drip from the mountains
and pour from the hills.
14 I will bring my people Israel back from captivity;
they will build the ruined cities again,
and they will live in them.
They will plant vineyards and drink the wine from them;
they will plant gardens and eat their fruit.
15 I will plant my people on their land,
and they will not be pulled out again
from the land which I have given them,”
says the Lord your God.
31 Then Jesus said, “What shall I say about the people of this time? What are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace, calling to one another and saying,
‘We played music for you, but you did not dance;
we sang a sad song, but you did not cry.’
33 John the Baptist came and did not eat bread or drink wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon in him.’ 34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! He eats too much and drinks too much wine, and he is a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 But wisdom is proved to be right by what it does.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.