Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.
A Psalm of David. A [a]Maskil.
32 (A)How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed is the man to whom the Lord (B)does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is (C)no deceit!
3 When (D)I kept silent about my sin, (E)my [b]body wasted away
Through my [c](F)groaning all day long.
4 For day and night (G)Your hand was heavy upon me;
My [d](H)vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. [e]Selah.
5 I (I)acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I (J)did not hide;
I said, “(K)I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”;
And You (L)forgave the [f]guilt of my sin. Selah.
6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You [g](M)in a time when You may be found;
Surely (N)in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
7 You are (O)my hiding place; You (P)preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with [h](Q)songs of deliverance. Selah.
8 I will (R)instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will counsel you (S)with My eye upon you.
9 Do not be (T)as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.
10 Many are the (U)sorrows of the wicked,
But (V)he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him.
11 Be (W)glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are (X)upright in heart.
28 Ahimaaz called and said to the king, “[a]All is well.” And (A)he prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground. And he said, “(B)Blessed is the Lord your God, who has delivered up the men who lifted their hands against my lord the king.” 29 The king said, “(C)Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent the king’s servant, and your servant, I saw a great tumult, but (D)I did not know what it was.” 30 Then the king said, “Turn aside and stand here.” So he turned aside and stood still.
31 Behold, the Cushite arrived, and the Cushite said, “Let my lord the king receive good news, for (E)the Lord has [b]freed you this day from the hand of all those who rose up against you.” 32 Then the king said to the Cushite, “(F)Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And the Cushite answered, “(G)Let the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up against you for evil, be as that young man!”
33 [c]The king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And thus he said as he walked, “(H)O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! (I)Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
Joab Reproves David’s Lament
19 Then it was told Joab, “Behold, (J)the king is weeping and mourns for Absalom.” 2 The [d]victory that day was turned to mourning for all the people, for the people heard it said that day, “The king is grieved for his son.” 3 So the people went by stealth into the city that day, as people who are humiliated steal away when they flee in battle. 4 The king (K)covered his face and [e]cried out with a loud voice, “(L)O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!” 5 Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, “Today you have covered with shame the faces of all your servants, who today have saved your life and the lives of your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives, and the lives of your concubines, 6 by loving those who hate you, and by hating those who love you. For you have shown today that [f]princes and servants are nothing to you; for I know this day that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then [g]you would be pleased. 7 Now therefore arise, go out and speak [h]kindly to your servants, for I swear by the Lord, if you do not go out, surely (M)not a man will pass the night with you, and this will be worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now.”
David Restored as King
8 So the king arose and sat in the gate. When they told all the people, saying, “Behold, the king is (N)sitting in the gate,” then all the people came before the king.
Now (O)Israel had fled, each to his tent.
17 [a]One day He was teaching; and (A)there were some Pharisees and (B)teachers of the law sitting there, who had (C)come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and (D)the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. 18 (E)And some men were carrying on a [b]bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. 19 But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on (F)the roof and let him down (G)through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. 20 Seeing their faith, He said, “[c]Friend, (H)your sins are forgiven you.” 21 The scribes and the Pharisees (I)began to reason, saying, “(J)Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? (K)Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” 22 But Jesus, [d]aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the (L)paralytic—“I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.” 25 Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home (M)glorifying God. 26 [e]They were all struck with astonishment and began (N)glorifying God; and they were filled (O)with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
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