Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
11 For the sake of your name,[a] Lord,
forgive my sin, for it is great.
12 Who is the man who fears the Lord?
God[b] will teach him the path he should choose.
13 He[c] will experience good things;
his descendants will inherit the earth.
14 The intimate counsel of the Lord is for those who fear him
so they may know his covenant.
15 My eyes look to the Lord continuously,
because he’s the one who releases my feet from the trap.[d]
16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me,
for I am lonely and oppressed.
17 The troubles of my heart have increased;
bring me out of my distress!
18 Look upon my distress and affliction;
forgive all my sins.
19 Look how many enemies I have gained!
They hate me with a vicious hatred.
20 Preserve my life and deliver me;
do not let me be ashamed,
because I take refuge in you.
Job Describes Social Injustice
24 Why doesn’t the Almighty reserve time for judgment?
And why don’t those who know him perceive his days?
2 They move boundary stones,[a]
steal flocks, and pasture them.[b]
3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey;
they take the ox of the widow as security for a loan;[c]
4 They push the needy off the road,
and force the poor of the land into hiding.
5 “Look! Like wild donkeys in the wilderness,
they work diligently as they seek wild game in the desert,
food for them and their young ones.
6 They reap fodder in the field
and glean in the vineyard of the wicked.
7 They spend the night naked, without clothing,
with no covering against the cold.
8 They are wet from mountain rains;
without shelter, they cling to a rock.
Do Not Show Partiality
2 My brothers, do not let your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus, the Messiah,[a] be tainted by favoritism. 2 Suppose a man wearing gold rings and fine clothes comes into your assembly,[b] and a poor man in dirty clothes also comes in. 3 If you give special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Please take this seat,” but you say to the poor man, “Stand over there” or “Sit on the floor at my feet,”[c] 4 then you will have made false distinctions among yourselves and will have judged from evil motives, will you not?
5 Listen, my dear brothers! God has chosen the poor in the world to become rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who keep on loving him, has he not? 6 But you have humiliated the man who is poor. Are not rich people the ones who oppress you and drag you into court? 7 Are not they the ones who blaspheme the noble Name[d] by which you have been called?
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