Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
9 “Lord, you are my refuge!”
Because you chose the Most High as your dwelling place,
10 no evil will fall upon you,
and no affliction will approach your tent,
11 for he will command his angels
to protect you in all your ways.
12 With their hands they will lift you up
so you will not trip over a stone.
13 You will stomp on lions and snakes;
you will trample young lions and serpents.
The Lord Speaks
14 Because he has focused his love on me,
I will deliver him.
I will protect him[a]
because he knows my name.
15 When he calls out to me,
I will answer him.
I will be with him in his[b] distress.
I will deliver him,
and I will honor him.
16 I will satisfy him with long life;
I will show him my deliverance.
Self-Deception of the Babylonians
10 “You trusted in your own knowledge.[a]
You said, ‘No one sees me.’
Your wisdom and knowledge have misled you.
You said in your heart,
‘I am the one, and there will be none besides me.’
11 “But disaster will come[b] upon you,
and[c] you will not know how to charm it away.
A calamity will befall you
that you will not be able to[d] ward off;
and devastation will come upon you suddenly,
and[e] you won’t anticipate it.
12 “But[f] stand up now with your spells
and your many incantations,
at which you have labored from your childhood until today,[g]
13 according to[h] your multiple schemes.
Let them stand up now—
those who conjure[i] the heavens
and[j] gaze at the stars,
predicting at the new moons—
and save you from what is about to happen to them.[k]
14 “See, they are just like stubble;
fire burns them up.
They could not[l] even save themselves
from the power of the flame.
There will be no coals for warming oneself,
no fire to sit by.
15 So will they be to you—those with whom you toiled
and did business since your childhood—
they wander about, each in his own direction;
there is not one who can save you.
An Argument about Greatness
24 Now an argument sprang up among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 25 But he told them, “The kings of the unbelievers[a] lord it over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called benefactors. 26 But you are not to do so. On the contrary, the greatest among you should become like the youngest, and the one who leads should become like the one who serves. 27 Because who is greater, the one who sits at the table, or the one who serves? It is the one at the table, isn’t it? But I’m among you as one who serves.
28 “You are the ones who have always stood by me in my trials. 29 And I confer a kingdom on you, just as my Father has conferred a kingdom[b] on me, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit down on thrones to govern the twelve tribes of Israel.”
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