Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
23 The Lord makes a man’s steps secure
when he approves of his conduct.
24 Even if he stumbles, he will never fall headlong,
for the Lord holds him by the hand.[a]
25 From my youth until my present old age,
I have never seen the righteous man abandoned
or his children reduced to begging for bread.
26 He is always compassionate and generous in lending,
and his children will be blessed.[b]
27 If you shun evil and do good,
you will dwell in the land forever.
28 For the Lord loves the just,[c]
and he will not forsake his faithful ones.
Those who follow evil paths will be destroyed,
and the children of the wicked will be cut off,
29 whereas the righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.[d]
30 [e]The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks what is right.
31 The law of his God is in his heart,
and his steps do not waver.
32 [f]The wicked man keeps close watch on the righteous
and seeks an opportunity to kill him.
33 But the Lord will not abandon the righteous
to the power of the wicked,
nor will he allow him to be condemned
when he is brought to trial.
34 Wait for the Lord
and follow the path he has laid out;
then he will exalt you to inherit the land,
and you will see the destruction of the wicked.
35 [g]I have seen a wicked man inflicting terror
and towering like a verdant tree.
36 I passed by again, and he was gone;
I searched for him, but he was not to be found.
37 [h]Pay attention to the innocent and behold the upright,
for the man of peace will have a future.
38 But the wicked will be completely destroyed,
and their children will be cut off.
39 [i]The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their refuge in times of trouble.
40 The Lord will help them and deliver them;
he will rescue them from the wicked and save them
because they flee to him for refuge.
Chapter 12[a]
Samuel’s Innocence. 1 Samuel said to all of Israel, “I have listened to everything you said to me and I have appointed a king over you. 2 Now you have a king leading you. I am old and gray, and my sons are in your presence. I have led you from the days of my youth up to the present. 3 Behold, I testify against you in the presence of the Lord and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hands did I receive a bribe to close my eyes? I am willing to restore it all to you.”
4 They answered, “You have not cheated us nor have you oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from anyone’s hands.” 5 So Samuel said, “The Lord is a witness before you, and the anointed is also a witness before you, that you have not found anything in my hands.” They answered, “He is our witness.”
Samuel’s Review of the People. 6 Samuel then said to the people, “It is the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron, and he brought you up out of the land of Egypt. 7 Now, therefore, stay here, so that I can plead my case with you before the Lord concerning all of the righteous deeds that the Lord did on your behalf and for your fathers.
8 “After Jacob went into Egypt, your fathers cried out to the Lord, and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron who brought your fathers out of Egypt and led them here to settle in this place. 9 They forgot the Lord, their God, so he sold them into the hands of Sisera, the leader of Hazor’s army, and into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the king of Moab, who fought against them. 10 They cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, for we have abandoned the Lord to serve the Baals and the Astartes. Deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.’
11 “Then the Lord sent Jerubbaal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel. He rescued you out of the hands of the enemies who surrounded you so that you might live in safety. 12 But now when you saw that Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, was attacking you, you said to me, ‘No! We want a king to rule over us,’ even though the Lord, your God, was your king.
13 Samuel’s Farewell.“Now, behold the king you have chosen, the one whom you desired. The Lord has given you a king. 14 If you fear the Lord and serve him and hearken to his voice and do not rebel against the commandment of God, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord, your God, then fine. 15 But if you do not hearken to the voice of the Lord and you rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you as it was against your fathers.
16 “Now, therefore, stand here and see this great thing that the Lord is doing before your eyes. 17 Is it not now the season for the wheat harvest? I will call upon the Lord to send thunder and rain. Then you will perceive and realize the great wickedness that you have done before the Lord in asking for a king.”[b]
18 Samuel Intercedes on Behalf of the People. Then Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day. All of the people were filled with fear of the Lord and of Samuel. 19 All of the people said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord, your God, for your servants that we might not die, for we have added this to our other evil deeds, that we asked for a king.”
20 But Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid. You have done all of this wickedness, but you have not turned away from following the Lord. Serve the Lord with your whole heart. 21 Do not turn aside after useless things that cannot be to your profit, nor can they deliver you, for they are useless. 22 The Lord will not abandon you because of his great name,[c] for the Lord desired to make you his people.
23 “As for myself, far be it from me to sin against the Lord by not praying for you. I will instruct you in the way that is good and right. 24 Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with your whole heart, considering the great things he has done for you.[d] 25 But if you continue to do what is wicked, then both you and your king will perish.”
The Testament of the Lord[a]
Chapter 13
Jesus Washes the Feet of the Disciples.[b] 1 As the feast of Passover drew near, Jesus was aware that his hour had come to depart from this world and to go to the Father. He had loved his own who were in the world, and he loved them to the end.
2 The devil had already put it into the mind of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. During supper, 3 Jesus, fully aware that the Father had entrusted all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was returning to God, 4 got up from the table, removed his outer garments, and took a towel that he tied around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel wrapped around his waist.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered, “You do not understand now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you will have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.”
10 Jesus then said, “Anyone who has bathed has no need to wash further, except for his feet, for he is clean all over. You also are clean, although not every one of you is clean.” 11 He knew the one who was going to betray him. That is why he added the words, “Not every one of you is clean.”
12 After he had finished washing their feet and had once again put on his outer garments, he reclined at table and said to them,
“Do you understand
what I have done for you?
13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’
and rightly so,
for that is what I am.
14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher,
have washed your feet,
you also should wash one another’s feet.
15 “I have given you an example.
What I have done for you,
you should also do.
16 Amen, amen, I say to you,
a servant is not greater than his master,
nor is a messenger greater
than the one who sent him.
17 “Now that you know these things,
you will be blessed
if you do them.
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