Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

139 Unto the end, a psalm for David.

² Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: rescue me from the unjust man.

³ Who have devised iniquities in their hearts: all the day long they designed battles.

⁴ They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent: the venom of saps is under their lips.

⁵ Keep me, O Lord, from the hand of the wicked: and from unjust men deliver me. Who have proposed to supplant my steps.

⁶ The proud have hidden a net for me. And they have stretched out cords for a snare: they have laid for me a stumblingblock by the wayside.

⁷ I said to the Lord: Thou art my God: hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication.

⁸ O Lord, Lord, the strength of my salvation: thou hast overshadowed my head in the day of battle.

⁹ Give me not up, O Lord, from my desire to the wicked: they have plotted against me; do not thou forsake me, lest they should triumph.

¹⁰ The head of them compassing me about: the labour of their lips shall overwhelm them.

¹¹ Burning coals shall fall upon them; thou wilt cast them down into the fire: in miseries they shall not be able to stand.

¹² A man full of tongue shall not be established in the earth: evil shall catch the unjust man unto destruction.

¹³ I know that the Lord will do justice to the needy, and will revenge the poor.

¹⁴ But as for the just, they shall give glory to thy name: and the upright shall dwell with thy countenance.

5 Naaman, general of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable: for by him the Lord gave deliverance to Syria: and he was a valiant man and rich, but a leper.

² Now there had gone out robbers from Syria, and had led away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid, and she waited upon Naaman's wife.

³ And she said to her mistress: I wish my master had been with the prophet, that is in Samaria: he would certainly have healed him of the leprosy which he hath.

⁴ Then Naaman went in to his lord, and told him, saying: Thus and thus said tile girl from the land of Israel.

⁵ And the king of Syria sad to him: Go, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and tell changes of raiment,

⁶ And brought the letter to the king of Israel, in these words: When thou shalt receive this letter, know that I have sent to thee Naaman my servant, that thou mayest heal him of his leprosy.

⁷ And when the king of Israel had read the letter, he rent his garments, and said: Am I God, to be able to kill and give life, that this man hath sent to me, to heal a man of his leprosy? mark, and see how he seeketh occasions against me.

⁸ And when Eliseus the man of God had heard this, to wit, that the king of Israel had rent his garments, he sent to him, saying: Why hast thou rent thy garments? let him come to me, and let him know that there is a prophet in Israel.

⁹ So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and stood at the door of the house of Eliseus:

¹⁰ And Eliseus sent a messenger to him, saying: Go, and wash seven times in the Jordan, and thy flesh shall recover health, and thee shalt be clean.

¹¹ Naaman was angry and went away, saying: I thought he would hare come out to me, and standing would hare invoked the name of the Lord his God, and touched with his hand the place of the leprosy, and healed me.

¹² Are not the Abana, and the Pharphar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel, that I may wash in them, and be made clean? So as he turned, and was going away with indignation,

¹³ His servants came to him, and said to him: Father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, surely thou shouldst have done it: how much rather what he now hath said to thee: Wash, and thou shalt he clean?

¹⁴ Then he went down, and washed in the Jordan seven times: according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored, like the flesh of a little child, and he was made clean.

⁸ Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners: and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

⁹ Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into sorrow.

¹⁰ Be humbled in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you.

¹¹ Detract not one another, my brethren. He that detracteth his brother, or he that judgeth his brother, detracteth the law, and judgeth the law. But if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

¹² There is one lawgiver, and judge, that is able to destroy and to deliver.

¹³ But who art thou that judgest thy neighbour? Behold, now you that say: To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and there we will spend a year, and will traffic, and make our gain.

¹⁴ Whereas you know not what shall be on the morrow.

¹⁵ For what is your life? It is a vapour which appeareth for a little while, and afterwards shall vanish away. For that you should say: If the Lord will, and if we shall live, we will do this or that.

¹⁶ But now you rejoice in your arrogancies. All such rejoicing is wicked.

¹⁷ To him therefore who knoweth to do good, and doth it not, to him it is sin.