Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
21 But you, Lord God,
be kind to me so others will know you are good.
Because your love is good, save me.
22 I am poor and helpless.
And I am very sad.
23 I am dying like an evening shadow.
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak from hunger.
I have become thin.
25 My enemies insult me.
They look at me and shake their heads.
26 Lord my God, help me.
Because you are loving, save me.
27 Then they will know that you have saved me.
They will know it was your power, Lord.
28 They may curse me, but you bless me.
They may attack me, but they will be disgraced.
Then I, your servant, will be glad.
29 Let those who accuse me be disgraced.
Let them be covered with shame like a coat.
30 I will thank the Lord very much.
I will praise him in front of many people.
31 He defends the helpless.
He saved me from those who accuse me.
33 As surely as I live, says the Lord God, I will rule you. I will rule you with my great power and strength and anger. 34 I will bring you out from the foreign nations. I will gather you from the lands where you are scattered. I will do this with my great power and strength and anger. 35 I will bring you among the nations as I brought your ancestors into the desert with Moses. There I will judge you face to face. 36 I will judge you the same way I judged your ancestors. That was in the desert of the land of Egypt. So I will judge you, says the Lord God. 37 I will take control of you. I will punish you by my agreement. 38 I will get rid of those who refuse to obey me and who turn against me. I will bring them out of the land where they are now living. But they will never enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
39 “‘This is what the Lord God says: People of Israel, go serve your idols for now. But later you will listen to me. You will not continue to dishonor my holy name with your gifts and false gods. 40 My holy mountain is the high mountain of Israel. There all Israel will serve me in the land, says the Lord God. There I will accept you. There I will look for your offerings. I will look for the first harvest of your offerings and all your holy gifts. 41 I will accept you like a pleasing smell. This will happen when I bring you out from the foreign nations. It will take place when I gather you from the lands where you are scattered. Then through you I will show how holy I am. The nations will see it. 42 When I bring you into the land of Israel, you will know that I am the Lord. I will bring you into the land I promised your ancestors. 43 There you will remember everything you did that made you unclean. Then you will hate yourselves for all the evil things you have done. 44 I will deal with you to show who I am. Then you will know I am the Lord, people of Israel. But it’s not because of your evil ways or unclean actions, says the Lord God.’”
Jesus Heals a Man’s Crippled Hand
6 On another Sabbath day Jesus went into the synagogue and was teaching. A man with a crippled right hand was there. 7 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees were watching to see if Jesus would heal on the Sabbath day. They wanted to see Jesus do something wrong so that they could accuse him. 8 But he knew what they were thinking. He said to the man with the crippled hand, “Get up and stand before these people.” The man got up and stood there. 9 Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is it right to do on the Sabbath day: to do good, or to do evil? Is it right to save a life or to destroy one?” 10 Jesus looked around at all of them. He said to the man, “Let me see your hand.” The man stretched out his hand, and it was completely healed.
11 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law became very angry. They said to each other, “What can we do to Jesus?”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.