Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
23 A person’s steps are established by the Lord,
and he takes pleasure in his way.(A)
24 Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed,
because the Lord supports him with his hand.(B)
25 I have been young and now I am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned
or his children begging for bread.(C)
26 He is always generous, always lending,
and his children are a blessing.(D)
27 Turn away from evil, do what is good,
and settle permanently.(E)
28 For the Lord loves justice
and will not abandon his faithful ones.(F)
They are kept safe forever,
but the children of the wicked will be destroyed.(G)
29 The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it permanently.(H)
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom;
his tongue speaks what is just.(I)
31 The instruction of his God is in his heart;
his steps do not falter.(J)
32 The wicked one lies in wait for the righteous
and intends to kill him;(K)
33 the Lord will not leave him
in the power of the wicked one
or allow him to be condemned when he is judged.(L)
34 Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land.
You will watch when the wicked are destroyed.(M)
35 I have seen a wicked, violent person
well-rooted,[a] like a flourishing native tree.(N)
36 Then I[b] passed by and noticed he was gone;
I searched for him, but he could not be found.(O)
Samuel’s Final Public Speech
12 Then Samuel said to all Israel, “I have carefully listened to everything you said to me and placed a king over you.(A) 2 Now you can see that the king is leading you. As for me, I’m old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have led you from my youth until now. 3 Here I am. Bring charges against me before the Lord and his anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken?(B) Who have I wronged or mistreated? Who gave me a bribe to overlook something?[a](C) I will return it to you.”
4 “You haven’t wronged us, you haven’t mistreated us, and you haven’t taken anything from anyone,” they responded.
5 He said to them, “The Lord is a witness against you, and his anointed is a witness today that you haven’t found anything(D) in my hand.”(E)
“He is a witness,” they said.
6 Then Samuel said to the people, “The Lord, who appointed Moses and Aaron(F) and who brought your ancestors up from the land of Egypt, is a witness.[b] 7 Now present yourselves, so I may confront you before the Lord about all the righteous acts he has done for you and your ancestors.
8 “When Jacob went to Egypt,[c] your ancestors cried out to the Lord,(G) and he sent them Moses and Aaron, who led your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place.(H) 9 But they forgot the Lord their God, so he handed them over to Sisera(I) commander of the army of Hazor, to the Philistines, and to the king of Moab.(J) These enemies fought against them. 10 Then they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, for we abandoned the Lord and worshiped the Baals and the Ashtoreths. Now rescue us from the power of our enemies,(K) and we will serve you.’ 11 So the Lord sent Jerubbaal,(L) Barak,[d](M) Jephthah,(N) and Samuel.(O) He rescued you from the power of the enemies around you, and you lived securely. 12 But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was coming against you, you said to me, ‘No, we must have a king reign over us’—even though the Lord your God is your king.
13 “Now here is the king you’ve chosen,(P) the one you requested.(Q) Look, this is the king the Lord has placed over you. 14 If you fear the Lord,(R) worship and obey him, and if you don’t rebel against the Lord’s command, then both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God. 15 However, if you disobey the Lord(S) and rebel against his command, the Lord’s hand will be against you(T) as it was against your ancestors.[e](U)
16 “Now, therefore, present yourselves and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes.(V) 17 Isn’t the wheat harvest today?(W) I will call on the Lord, and he will send thunder and rain so that you will recognize what an immense evil you committed in the Lord’s sight by requesting a king for yourselves.”(X) 18 Samuel called on the Lord, and on that day the Lord sent thunder and rain. As a result, all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.(Y)
19 They pleaded with Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants(Z) so we won’t die! For we have added to all our sins the evil of requesting a king for ourselves.”(AA)
20 Samuel replied, “Don’t be afraid. Even though you have committed all this evil, don’t turn away from following the Lord.(AB) Instead, worship the Lord with all your heart. 21 Don’t turn away to follow worthless[f] things that can’t profit or rescue you; they are worthless.(AC) 22 The Lord will not abandon his people,(AD) because of his great name and because he has determined to make you his own people.(AE)
23 “As for me, I vow that I will not sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you.(AF) I will teach you the good and right way. 24 Above all, fear the Lord and worship him faithfully with all your heart; consider the great things he has done for you.(AG) 25 However, if you continue to do what is evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”(AH)
Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet
13 Before the Passover Festival, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world to the Father.(A) Having loved his own who were in the world,(B) he loved them to the end.
2 Now when it was time for supper, the devil(C) had already put it into the heart of Judas,(D) Simon Iscariot’s son,[a] to betray(E) him. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given everything into his hands,(F) that he had come from God,(G) and that he was going back to God.(H) 4 So he got up from supper, laid aside his outer clothing,(I) took a towel, and tied it around himself.(J) 5 Next, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel tied around him.
6 He came to Simon Peter,(K) who asked him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus answered him, “What I’m doing you don’t realize now, but afterward you will understand.”(L)
8 “You will never wash my feet,” Peter said.
Jesus replied, “If I don’t wash you, you have no part with me.”
9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.”
10 “One who has bathed,” Jesus told him, “doesn’t need to wash anything except his feet, but he is completely clean. You are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For he knew who would betray him. This is why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
The Meaning of Foot Washing
12 When Jesus had washed their feet and put on his outer clothing, he reclined again and said to them, “Do you know what I have done for you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are speaking rightly, since that is what I am. 14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.(M) 15 For I have given you an example,(N) that you also should do just as I have done for you.
16 “Truly I tell you, a servant is not greater than his master,[b](O) and a messenger is not greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.(P)
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