Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Judgment for idolators
65 I was ready to respond to those who didn’t ask.
I was ready to be found by those who didn’t look for me.
I said, “I’m here! I’m here!” to a nation
that didn’t call on my name.
2 I extended my hands all day
to a rebellious people
walking in a way that isn’t good,
following their own plans;
3 people who provoke me to my face continually,
sacrificing in gardens and burning incense on bricks,
4 who sit in tombs
and spend the night among rocks;[a]
who eat swine’s flesh
with broth of unclean meat in their bowls;
5 who say, “Keep to yourself!
Keep away from me! I’m too holy for you.”
These people ignite my anger
like a fire that burns all day.
6 Look, this stands written before me.
I won’t be silent, but I will repay;
I will repay in full measure
7 your sins and the sins of your ancestors as well,
says the Lord.
Since they burned incense on the mountains,
and mocked me in the hills,
I will count out to them
full payment for their actions.
8 The Lord proclaims:
As new wine is found in the grape cluster,
and someone says, “Don’t destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,”
so I will do for the sake of my servants
and not destroy everything:
9 I will bring out offspring from Jacob,
and from Judah, heirs to my mountains.
My chosen ones will take possession;
my servants will dwell there.
19 But you, Lord! Don’t be far away!
You are my strength!
Come quick and help me!
20 Deliver me[a] from the sword.
Deliver my life from the power of the dog.
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion.
From the horns of the wild oxen
you have answered me!
22 I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;
I will praise you in the very center of the congregation!
23 All of you who revere the Lord—praise him!
All of you who are Jacob’s descendants—honor him!
All of you who are all Israel’s offspring—
stand in awe of him!
24 Because he didn’t despise or detest
the suffering of the one who suffered—
he didn’t hide his face from me.
No, he listened when I cried out to him for help.
25 I offer praise in the great congregation
because of you;
I will fulfill my promises
in the presence of those who honor God.
26 Let all those who are suffering eat and be full!
Let all who seek the Lord praise him!
I pray your hearts live forever!
27 Every part of the earth
will remember and come back to the Lord;
every family among all the nations will worship you.
28 Because the right to rule belongs to the Lord,
he rules all nations.
23 Before faith came, we were guarded under the Law, locked up until faith that was coming would be revealed, 24 so that the Law became our custodian until Christ so that we might be made righteous by faith.
God’s children are heirs in Christ
25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian.
26 You are all God’s children through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 Now if you belong to Christ, then indeed you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise.
Jesus frees a demon-possessed man
26 Jesus and his disciples sailed to the Gerasenes’ land, which is across the lake from Galilee. 27 As soon as Jesus got out of the boat, a certain man met him. The man was from the city and was possessed by demons. For a long time, he had lived among the tombs, naked and homeless. 28 When he saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell down before him. Then he shouted, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” 29 He said this because Jesus had already commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had taken possession of him, so he would be bound with leg irons and chains and placed under guard. But he would break his restraints, and the demon would force him into the wilderness.
30 Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had entered him. 31 They pleaded with him not to order them to go back into the abyss.[a] 32 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs. Jesus gave them permission, 33 and the demons left the man and entered the pigs. The herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and drowned.
34 When those who tended the pigs saw what happened, they ran away and told the story in the city and in the countryside. 35 People came to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone. He was sitting at Jesus’ feet, fully dressed and completely sane. They were filled with awe. 36 Those people who had actually seen what had happened told them how the demon-possessed man had been delivered. 37 Then everyone gathered from the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave their area because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and returned across the lake. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged to come along with Jesus as one of his disciples. Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return home and tell the story of what God has done for you.” So he went throughout the city proclaiming what Jesus had done for him.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible