Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 103

[A Psalm] of David.

¹ Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all that is [deepest] within me, bless His holy name!

² Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits—

³ Who forgives [every one of] all your iniquities, Who heals [each one of] all your diseases,

⁴ Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption, Who beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercy;

⁵ Who satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle’s [strong, overcoming, soaring]!^(A)

⁶ The Lord executes righteousness and justice [not for me only, but] for all who are oppressed.

⁷ He made known His ways [of righteousness and justice] to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.

⁸ The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy and loving-kindness.^(B)

¹⁵ In those days I saw in Judah men treading winepresses on the Sabbath, bringing in sheaves or heaps of grain with which they loaded donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs, and all sorts of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I protested and warned them on the day they sold the produce.

¹⁶ There dwelt men of Tyre there also who brought fish and all kinds of wares and sold on the Sabbath to the people of Judah and in Jerusalem.

¹⁷ Then I reproved the nobles of Judah and said, What evil thing is this that you do—profaning the Sabbath day?

¹⁸ Did not your fathers do thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us and upon this city? Yet you bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath.

¹⁹ And when it began to get dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath [day began], I commanded that the gates should be shut and not be opened till after the Sabbath. And I set some of my servants at the gates to prevent any burden being brought in on the Sabbath day.

²⁰ So the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice.

²¹ But I reproved and warned them, saying, Why do you lodge by the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you. Then they stopped coming on the Sabbath.

²² And I commanded the Levites to cleanse themselves and come and guard the gates to keep the Sabbath day holy. O my God, [earnestly] remember me concerning this also and spare me according to the greatness of Your mercy and loving-kindness.

6 One Sabbath while Jesus was passing through the fields of standing grain, it occurred that His disciples picked some of the spikes and ate [of the grain], rubbing it out in their hands.^(A)

² But some of the Pharisees asked them, Why are you doing what is not permitted to be done on the Sabbath days?^(B)

³ And Jesus replied to them, saying, Have you never so much as read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him?—^(C)

⁴ How he went into the house of God and took and ate the [sacred] loaves of the showbread, which it is not permitted for any except only the priests to eat, and also gave to those [who were] with him?^(D)

⁵ And He said to them, The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.