Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
23 Am I a God near at hand only—oracle of the Lord—(A)
and not a God far off?[a]
24 Can anyone hide in secret
without my seeing them?—oracle of the Lord.
Do I not fill
heaven and earth?—oracle of the Lord.
25 I have heard the prophets who prophesy lies in my name say, “I had a dream! I had a dream!” 26 How long? Will the hearts of the prophets who prophesy lies and their own deceitful fancies ever turn back? 27 By the dreams they tell each other, they plan to make my people forget my name, just as their ancestors forgot my name for Baal.(B) 28 Let the prophets who have dreams tell their dreams; let those who have my word speak my word truthfully!
Psalm 82[a]
The Downfall of Unjust Gods
1 A psalm of Asaph.
I
God takes a stand in the divine council,
gives judgment in the midst of the gods.(A)
2 “How long will you judge unjustly
and favor the cause of the wicked?(B)
Selah
3 “Defend the lowly and fatherless;
render justice to the afflicted and needy.
4 Rescue the lowly and poor;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”(C)
II
5 [b]The gods neither know nor understand,
wandering about in darkness,
and all the world’s foundations shake.
6 I declare: “Gods though you be,[c](D)
offspring of the Most High all of you,
7 Yet like any mortal you shall die;
like any prince you shall fall.”
8 Arise, O God, judge the earth,[d]
for yours are all the nations.
29 By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted it they were drowned.(A) 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell after being encircled for seven days.(B) 31 By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with the disobedient, for she had received the spies in peace.(C)
32 What more shall I say? I have not time to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets,(D) 33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, did what was righteous, obtained the promises; they closed the mouths of lions,(E) 34 put out raging fires, escaped the devouring sword; out of weakness they were made powerful, became strong in battle, and turned back foreign invaders.(F) 35 Women received back their dead through resurrection. Some were tortured and would not accept deliverance, in order to obtain a better resurrection.(G) 36 Others endured mockery, scourging, even chains and imprisonment.(H) 37 They were stoned, sawed in two, put to death at sword’s point; they went about in skins of sheep or goats, needy, afflicted, tormented.(I) 38 The world was not worthy of them. They wandered about in deserts and on mountains, in caves and in crevices in the earth.(J)
39 Yet all these, though approved because of their faith, did not receive what had been promised. 40 God had foreseen something better for us, so that without us they should not be made perfect.[a]
Chapter 12
God Our Father.[b] 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us[c] and persevere in running the race that lies before us 2 while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.(K)
49 “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! 50 [a]There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!(A) 51 Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?(B) No, I tell you, but rather division.(C) 52 From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; 53 a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”(D)
Signs of the Times.(E) 54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see [a] cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rain—and so it does; 55 and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot—and so it is. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
Settlement with an Opponent.(F)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.