Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
21 [a]But you, O Lord, my God,
treat me kindly for your name’s sake;[b]
deliver me because of your overwhelming kindness.
22 For I am poor and needy,[c]
and my heart is pierced within me.
23 I am fading away[d] like an evening shadow;
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak from fasting;
my flesh is wasting away.
25 I have become an object of ridicule to my accusers;
upon seeing me, they toss their heads.[e]
26 Come to my aid, O Lord, my God;
save me because of your kindness.[f]
27 Let them know that your hand has done this,
that you, O Lord, have accomplished it.
28 When they curse, you will bless;
when they attack, they will be put to shame,
and your servant will rejoice.[g]
29 My accusers will be clothed in disgrace,
wrapped in their shame as in a cloak.
30 I will thank the Lord with my lips,
and before all the people I will praise him.[h]
31 For he stands at the right hand of the poor
to save him from his accusers who pass judgment on him.[i]
18 Then I gave this warning to their children in the desert: Do not follow the statutes of your parents or observe their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols. 19 I, the Lord, am your God. You must obey my laws and be careful to observe my ordinances. 20 Keep holy my Sabbaths as a sign between me and you so that you will know that I am the Lord, your God.
21 However, the children rebelled against me. They did not observe my statutes or keep my ordinances, even though observance of them would lead to life. Moreover, they profaned my Sabbaths. Then I again resolved to pour forth my wrath against them and vent my anger on them in the wilderness. 22 But I restrained my hand and acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the sight of the nations in whose presence I had brought them out.
23 Nevertheless, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would disperse them among the nations and scatter them over the earth, 24 because they had rejected my laws and profaned my Sabbaths and had regard only for the idols of their ancestors. 25 Furthermore, I imposed on them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could never live. 26 I also defiled them through their offerings, making them sacrifice their firstborn son, in order to fill them with revulsion. Thus they would know that I am the Lord.
27 Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: In this way also your ancestors blasphemed me by dealing treacherously with me. 28 For when I had brought them into the land I had sworn to give them and they saw any high hill or leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices and made offerings that aroused my anger; there they sent up offerings of pleasing odors, and there they poured out their drink offerings. 29 I then said to them, “What is this high place to which you go?” And ever since it has been called Bamah.
30 Therefore, say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Will you defile yourselves the way your fathers did and lust after their loathsome gods? 31 When you offer your gifts and burn your children as sacrifices, you defile yourselves with all your idols even to this day. Shall I allow myself to be consulted by you, O house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord God, I swear that I will not allow myself to be consulted by you.
32 When you say to yourselves, “We shall become like the nations and peoples of foreign lands, worshiping wood and stone,” you are making plans for something that will never occur.
To Philadelphia.[a] 7 “To the angel of the Church in Philadelphia,[b] write:
“ ‘These are the words of the holy one,
the true one,
who has the key of David,
who opens the door,
and no one can shut it;
who closes the door,
and no one can open it:
8 “ ‘ “I know your deeds. I have set before you an open door[c] that no one will be able to close. I know that your strength is limited, yet you have kept my word and have not disowned my name. 9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who claim to be Jews but are not, for they are lying—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and recognize that I have loved you.
10 “ ‘ “Because you have kept my word to endure patiently, I will keep you safe during the time of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to put the inhabitants of the earth to the test. 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you already have so that no one may rob you of your crown.
12 “ ‘ “Anyone who is victorious I will make into a pillar in the temple of my God, and never again will he depart from it. I will inscribe on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God, as well as my own new name.[d]
13 “ ‘ “Whoever has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches.” ’
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