Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
19 Lord, don’t leave me!
You are my strength—hurry and help me!
20 Save me from the sword.
Save my precious life from these dogs.
21 Rescue me from the lion’s mouth.
Protect me from the horns of the bulls.[a]
22 I will tell my people about you.
I will praise you in the great assembly.
23 Praise the Lord, all you who worship him!
Honor him, you descendants of Jacob!
Fear and respect him, all you people of Israel!
24 He does not ignore those who need help.
He does not hate them.
He does not turn away from them.
He listens when they cry for help.
25 Lord, because of you I offer praise in the great assembly.
In front of all these worshipers I will do all that I promised.
26 Poor people, come eat and be satisfied.[b]
You who have come looking for the Lord, praise him!
May your hearts be happy[c] forever.
27 May those in faraway countries remember the Lord and come back to him.
May those in distant lands worship him,
28 because the Lord is the King.
He rules all nations.
Evil People Should Change Their Lives
59 Look, the Lord’s power is enough to save you. He can hear you when you ask him for help. 2 It is your sins that separate you from your God. He turns away from you when he sees them. 3 That’s because your hands are covered with blood from the people you murdered. You tell lies and say evil things. 4 You can’t be trusted, even in court. You lie about each other and depend on false arguments to win your cases. You create pain and produce wickedness. 5 You hatch evil, like eggs from a poisonous snake. Anyone who eats the eggs will die. And if you break one of them open, a poisonous snake will come out.
Your lies are like spider webs. 6 They cannot be used for clothes, and you cannot cover yourself with them.
Your hands are always busy sinning and hurting others. 7 Your feet run toward evil. You are always ready to kill innocent people. You think of nothing but evil. Everywhere you go you cause trouble and ruin. 8 You don’t know how to live in peace. You don’t do what is right and fair. You are crooked, and anyone who lives like that will never know true peace.
Jesus Heals More People
27 As Jesus was going away from there, two blind men followed him. They said loudly, “Show kindness to us, Son of David.”
28 Jesus went inside, and the blind men went with him. He asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to make you see again?” They answered, “Yes, Lord, we believe.”
29 Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, “You believe that I can make you see again, so it will happen.” 30 Then the men were able to see. Jesus gave them a strong warning. He said, “Don’t tell anyone about this.” 31 But they left and spread the news about Jesus all around that area.
32 As these two men were leaving, some people brought another man to Jesus. This man could not talk because he had a demon inside him. 33 Jesus forced the demon out, and the man was able to talk. The people were amazed and said, “We have never seen anything like this in Israel.”
34 But the Pharisees said, “The ruler of demons is the one that gives him power to force demons out.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International