Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

32 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

² Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

³ When I kept silent, my bones waxed old through my groaning all the day long.

⁴ For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me; the sap of my soul was turned into the drought of summer. Selah

⁵ I acknowledged my sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, “I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,” and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah

⁶ For this shall every one that is godly pray unto Thee in a time when Thou mayest be found; surely the floods of great waters shall not come nigh unto him.

⁷ Thou art my hiding place; Thou shalt preserve me from trouble; Thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah

⁸ “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go; I will guide thee with Mine eye.

⁹ Be ye not as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they not come near unto thee.”

¹⁰ Many shall be the sorrows of the wicked; but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about.

¹¹ Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, ye righteous; and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart!

²⁸ And Ahimaaz called and said unto the king, “All is well.” And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king and said, “Blessed be the Lord thy God, who hath delivered up the men who lifted up their hand against my lord the king.”

²⁹ And the king said, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” And Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent the king’s servant and me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was.”

³⁰ And the king said unto him, “Turn aside and stand here.” And he turned aside and stood still.

³¹ And behold, the Cushite came; and the Cushite said, “Tidings, my lord the king; for the Lord hath avenged thee this day of all those who rose up against thee.”

³² And the king said unto the Cushite, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” And the Cushite answered, “The enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is.”

³³ And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he went, thus he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

³ And the people got themselves by stealth that day into the city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle.

⁴ But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, “O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

⁵ And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, “Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants who this day have saved thy life and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives and the lives of thy concubines,

⁶ in that thou lovest thine enemies and hatest thy friends. For thou hast declared this day that thou regardest neither princes nor servants; for this day I perceive that if Absalom had lived and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well.

⁷ Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak comfortingly unto thy servants. For I swear by the Lord, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night; and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell thee from thy youth until now.”

⁸ Then the king arose and sat in the gate. And they told unto all the people, saying, “Behold, the king doth sit in the gate.” And all the people came before the king, for Israel had fled every man to his tent.

¹⁷ And it came to pass on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, who had come from every town of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.

¹⁸ And behold, men brought in on a bed a man who was taken with a palsy, and they sought means to bring him in and to lay him before Him.

¹⁹ And when they could not find a way to bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down on his couch through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.

²⁰ And when He saw their faith, He said unto him, “Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.”

²¹ And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?”

²² But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answering said unto them, “What reason ye in your hearts:

²³ whether it is easier to say, ‘Thy sins be forgiven thee,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’?

²⁴ But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power upon earth to forgive sins,” He said unto the one sick with the palsy, “I say unto thee, arise and take up thy couch and go into thine house.”

²⁵ And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.

²⁶ And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today.”