Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 12
To the Chief Musician; set [possibly] an octave below. A Psalm of David.
1 Help, Lord! For principled and godly people are here no more; faithfulness and the faithful vanish from among the sons of men.
2 To his neighbor each one speaks words without use or worth or truth; with flattering lips and double heart [deceitfully] they speak.
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips and the tongues that speak proud boasting,
4 Those who say, With our tongues we prevail; our lips are our own [to command at our will]—who is lord and master over us?
5 Now will I arise, says the Lord, because the poor are oppressed, because of the groans of the needy; I will set him in safety and in the salvation for which he pants.
6 The words and promises of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times over.
7 You will keep them and preserve them, O Lord; You will guard and keep us from this [evil] generation forever.
8 The wicked walk or prowl about on every side, as vileness is exalted [and baseness is rated high] among the sons of men.
12 There is a way which seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but at the end of it is the way of death.
13 Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful, and the end of mirth is heaviness and grief.
14 The backslider in heart [from God and from fearing God] shall be filled with [the fruit of] his own ways, and a good man shall be satisfied with [the fruit of] his ways [with the holy thoughts and actions which his heart prompts and in which he delights].
15 The simpleton believes every word he hears, but the prudent man looks and considers well where he is going.
16 A wise man suspects danger and cautiously avoids evil, but the fool bears himself insolently and is [presumptuously] confident.
17 He who foams up quickly and flies into a passion deals foolishly, and a man of wicked plots and plans is hated.
18 The simple acquire folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
19 The evil men bow before the good, and the wicked [stand suppliantly] at the gates of the [uncompromisingly] righteous.
20 The poor is hated even by his own neighbor, but the rich has many friends.
21 He who despises his neighbor sins [against God, his fellowman, and himself], but happy (blessed and fortunate) is he who is kind and merciful to the poor.
22 Do they not err who devise evil and wander from the way of life? But loving-kindness and mercy, loyalty and faithfulness, shall be to those who devise good.
23 In all labor there is profit, but idle talk leads only to poverty.
24 The crown of the wise is their wealth of Wisdom, but the foolishness of [self-confident] fools is [nothing but] folly.
25 A truthful witness saves lives, but a deceitful witness speaks lies [and endangers lives].
26 In the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children shall always have a place of refuge.
27 Reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may avoid the snares of death.(A)
28 In a multitude of people is the king’s glory, but in a lack of people is the prince’s ruin.
29 He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who is hasty of spirit exposes and exalts his folly.(B)
30 A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body, but envy, jealousy, and wrath are like rottenness of the bones.
31 He who oppresses the poor reproaches, mocks, and insults his Maker, but he who is kind and merciful to the needy honors Him.(C)
4 And while they [Peter and John] were talking to the people, the high priests and the military commander of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,
2 Being vexed and indignant through and through because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in [the case of] Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
3 So they laid hands on them (arrested them) and put them in prison until the following day, for it was already evening.
4 But many of those who heard the message believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on Jesus as the Christ). And their number grew and came to about 5,000.
5 Then on the following day, their magistrates and elders and scribes were assembled in Jerusalem,
6 Including Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander and all others who belonged to the high priestly relationship.
7 And they set the men in their midst and repeatedly demanded, By what sort of power or by what kind of authority did [such people as] you do this [healing]?
8 Then Peter, [because he was] filled with [and controlled by] the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and members of the council (the Sanhedrin),
9 If we are being put on trial [here] today and examined concerning a good deed done to benefit a feeble (helpless) cripple, by what means this man has been restored to health,
10 Let it be known and understood by all of you, and by the whole house of Israel, that in the name and through the power and authority of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Whom you crucified, [but] Whom God raised from the dead, in Him and by means of Him this man is standing here before you well and sound in body.
11 This [Jesus] is the Stone which was despised and rejected by you, the builders, but which has become the Head of the corner [the Cornerstone].(A)
12 And there is salvation in and through no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by and in which we must be saved.
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