Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 113[a]
Praise of God’s Care for the Poor
1 Hallelujah!
I
Praise, you servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord.(A)
2 Blessed be the name of the Lord
both now and forever.
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting(B)
let the name of the Lord be praised.
II
4 High above all nations is the Lord;
above the heavens his glory.(C)
5 Who is like the Lord our God,
enthroned on high,
6 (D)looking down on heaven and earth?
7 He raises the needy from the dust,
lifts the poor from the ash heap,(E)
8 Seats them with princes,
the princes of the people,
9 Gives the childless wife a home,
the joyful mother of children.(F)
Hallelujah!
Chapter 23
1 You shall not repeat a false report. Do not join your hand with the wicked to be a witness supporting violence.(A) 2 You shall not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When testifying in a lawsuit, you shall not follow the crowd in perverting justice. 3 You shall not favor the poor in a lawsuit.(B)
4 When you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey going astray, you must see to it that it is returned.(C) 5 When you notice the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you should not desert him; you must help him with it.
6 You shall not pervert justice for the needy among you in a lawsuit. 7 You shall keep away from anything dishonest. The innocent and the just you shall not put to death, for I will not acquit the guilty. 8 Never take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and distorts the words of the just.(D) 9 You shall not oppress a resident alien; you well know how it feels to be an alien, since you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.(E)
Chapter 3
Answers to Objections. 1 [a]What advantage is there then in being a Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much, in every respect. [For] in the first place, they were entrusted with the utterances of God.(A) 3 What if some were unfaithful? Will their infidelity nullify the fidelity of God?(B) 4 Of course not! God must be true, though every human being is a liar,[b] as it is written:
“That you may be justified in your words,
and conquer when you are judged.”(C)
5 But if our wickedness provides proof of God’s righteousness, what can we say? Is God unjust, humanly speaking, to inflict his wrath?(D) 6 Of course not! For how else is God to judge the world? 7 But if God’s truth redounds to his glory through my falsehood, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And why not say—as we are accused and as some claim we say—that we should do evil that good may come of it? Their penalty is what they deserve.(E)
Universal Bondage to Sin.[c]
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.