Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A psalm by David; a maskil.[a]
32 Blessed is the person whose disobedience is forgiven
and whose sin is pardoned.
2 Blessed is the person whom the Lord no longer accuses of sin
and who has no deceitful thoughts.
3 When I kept silent ⌞about my sins⌟,
my bones began to weaken because of my groaning all day long.
4 Day and night your hand laid heavily on me.
My strength shriveled in the summer heat. Selah
5 I made my sins known to you, and I did not cover up my guilt.
I decided to confess them to you, O Lord.
Then you forgave all my sins. Selah
6 For this reason let all godly people pray to you
when you may be found.
Then raging floodwater will not reach them.
7 You are my hiding place.
You protect me from trouble.
You surround me with joyous songs of salvation. Selah
8 ⌞The Lord says,⌟
“I will instruct you.
I will teach you the way that you should go.
I will advise you as my eyes watch over you.
9 Don’t be stubborn like a horse or mule.
⌞They need⌟ a bit and bridle in their mouth to restrain them,
or they will not come near you.”
10 Many heartaches await wicked people,
but mercy surrounds those who trust the Lord.
11 Be glad and find joy in the Lord, you righteous people.
Sing with joy, all whose motives are decent.
28 Then Ahimaaz came up to the king, greeted him, and bowed down in front of him. Ahimaaz said, “May the Lord your God be praised. He has handed over the men who rebelled against Your Majesty.”
29 “Is the young man Absalom alright?” the king asked.
Ahimaaz answered, “I saw a lot of confusion when Joab sent me away, but I didn’t know what it meant.”
30 “Step aside, and stand here,” the king said. He stepped aside and stood there.
31 Then the Sudanese messenger came. “Good news for Your Majesty!” he said. “Today the Lord has freed you from all who turned against you.”
32 “Is the young man Absalom alright?” the king asked.
The Sudanese messenger answered, “May your enemies and all who turned against you be like that young man!” [a]
33 The king was shaken ⌞by the news⌟. He went to the room above the gate and cried. “My son Absalom!” he said as he went. “My son, my son Absalom! I wish I had died in your place! Absalom, my son, my son!”
David Restored to the Throne
19 [b]Joab was told, “The king is crying and mourning for Absalom.” 2 The victory of that day was turned into mourning because all the troops heard that the king was grieving for his son. 3 That day the troops sneaked into the city as if they had fled from battle and were ashamed of it. 4 The king covered his face and cried loudly, “My son Absalom! Absalom, my son, my son!”
5 Then Joab came into the house. “Today you have made all your men feel ashamed,” he said. “They saved your life and the lives of your sons, daughters, wives, and concubines [c] today. 6 You love those who hate you and hate those who love you. Today, you have made it clear that your commanders and servants mean nothing to you. I think you would be pleased if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead. 7 Now, get up, go out, and encourage your men. I swear to you by the Lord that if you don’t go out, no one will stay with you tonight, and that will be worse than all the trouble you’ve had in your entire life.”
8 The king sat in the gateway. When all the troops were told, “The king is sitting in the gateway,” they came to the king.
Meanwhile, Israel had fled and went back to their own homes.
Jesus Forgives Sins(A)
17 One day when Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and experts in Moses’ Teachings were present. They had come from every village in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. Jesus had the power of the Lord to heal.
18 Some men brought a paralyzed man on a stretcher. They tried to take him into the house and put him in front of Jesus. 19 But they could not find a way to get him into the house because of the crowd. So they went up on the roof. They made an opening in the tiles and let the man down on his stretcher among the people. (They lowered him in front of Jesus.)
20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Sir, your sins are forgiven.” 21 The experts in Moses’ Teachings and the Pharisees thought, “Who is this man? He’s dishonoring God! Who besides God can forgive sins?”
22 Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said to them, “What are you thinking? 23 Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
25 The man immediately stood up in front of them and picked up the stretcher he had been lying on. Praising God, he went home.
26 Everyone was amazed and praised God. They were filled with awe and said, “We’ve seen things today we can hardly believe!”
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