Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 130

A Song of ^[a]Ascents.

¹ Out of the depths have I cried to You, O Lord.

² Lord, hear my voice; let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.

³ If You, Lord, should keep account of and treat [us according to our] sins, O Lord, who could stand?^(A)

⁴ But there is forgiveness with You [just what man needs], that You may be reverently feared and worshiped.^(B)

⁵ I wait for the Lord, I expectantly wait, and in His word do I hope.

⁶ I am looking and waiting for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, I say, more than watchmen for the morning.

⁷ O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is mercy and loving-kindness, and with Him is plenteous redemption.

⁸ And He will redeem Israel from all their iniquities.

¹³ And many people came to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very great assembly.

¹⁴ They rose up and took away the altars [to idols] that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars and utensils for incense [to the gods] they took away and threw into the Kidron Valley [dumping place for the ashes of such abominations].

¹⁵ Then they killed the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. And the priests and the Levites were ashamed and sanctified themselves and brought burnt offerings to the Lord’s house.

¹⁶ They stood in their accustomed places, as directed in the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests threw [against the altar] the blood they received from the hand of the Levites.

¹⁷ For many were in the assembly who had not sanctified themselves [become clean and free from all sin]. So the Levites had to kill the Passover lambs for all who were not clean, in order to make them holy to the Lord.

¹⁸ For a multitude of the people, many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than Moses directed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, May the good Lord pardon everyone

¹⁹ Who sets his heart to seek and yearn for God—the Lord, the God of his fathers—even though not complying with the purification regulations of the sanctuary.

²⁰ And the Lord hearkened to Hezekiah and healed the people.

²¹ And the Israelites who were in Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy. The Levites and priests praised the Lord day by day, singing with instruments of much volume to the Lord.

²² Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who had good understanding in the Lord’s work. So the people ate the seven-day appointed feast, offering peace offerings, making confession [and giving thanks] to the Lord, the God of their fathers.

²³ And the whole assembly took counsel to prolong the feast another seven days; and they kept it another seven days with joy.

²⁴ For Hezekiah king of Judah gave to the assembly 1,000 young bulls and 7,000 sheep, and the princes gave 1,000 young bulls and 10,000 sheep. And a great number of priests sanctified themselves [for service].

²⁵ All the assembly of Judah, with the priests, the Levites, and all the assembly who with the sojourners came from the land of Israel to dwell in Judah, rejoiced.

²⁶ So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon son of David king of Israel there was nothing like this in Jerusalem.

²⁷ Then the priests and Levites arose and blessed the people; and their voice was heard and their prayer came up to [God’s] holy habitation in heaven.

2 And Jesus having returned to Capernaum, after some days it was rumored about that He was in the house [probably Peter’s].

² And so many people gathered together there that there was no longer room [for them], not even around the door; and He was discussing the Word.

³ Then they came, bringing a paralytic to Him, who had been picked up and was being carried by four men.

⁴ And when they could not get him to a place in front of Jesus because of the throng, they dug through the roof above Him; and when they had ^[a]scooped out an opening, they let down the [^[b]thickly padded] quilt or mat upon which the paralyzed man lay.

⁵ And when Jesus saw their faith [their confidence in God through Him], He said to the paralyzed man, Son, your sins are forgiven [you] and put away [that is, the ^[c]penalty is remitted, the sense of guilt removed, and you are made upright and in right standing with God].

⁶ Now some of the scribes were sitting there, holding a dialogue with themselves as they questioned in their hearts,

⁷ Why does this ^[d]Man talk like this? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins [^[e]remove guilt, remit the penalty, and bestow righteousness instead] except God alone?

⁸ And at once Jesus, becoming fully aware in His spirit that they thus debated within themselves, said to them, Why do you argue (debate, reason) about all this in your hearts?

⁹ Which is easier: to say to the paralyzed man, Your sins are forgiven and ^[f]put away, or to say, Rise, take up your sleeping pad or mat, and start walking about [and ^[g]keep on walking]?

¹⁰ But that you may know positively and beyond a doubt that the Son of Man has right and authority and power on earth to forgive sins—He said to the paralyzed man,

¹¹ I say to you, arise, pick up and carry your sleeping pad or mat, and be going on home.

¹² And he arose at once and picked up the sleeping pad or mat and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and ^[h] recognized and praised and thanked God, saying, We have never seen anything like this before!