Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer Against Liars
For the director of music. By the sheminith. A song of David.
12 Save me, Lord, because the good people are all gone.
No true believers are left on earth.
2 Everyone lies to his neighbors.
They say one thing and mean another.
3 The Lord will stop those lying lips.
He will cut off those bragging tongues.
4 They say, “Our tongues will help us win.
We can say what we wish. No one is our master.”
5 But the Lord says,
“I will now rise up
because the poor are being hurt.
Because of the moans of the helpless,
I will give them the help they want.”
6 The Lord’s words are pure.
They are like silver purified by fire,
like silver purified seven times over.
7 Lord, keep us safe.
Always protect us from such people.
8 The wicked are all around us.
Everyone loves what is wrong.
17 It is better to eat a dry crust of bread in peace
than to have a feast where there is quarreling.
2 A wise servant will rule over his master’s disgraceful son.
And he will even inherit a share of what the master leaves his sons.
3 A hot furnace tests silver and gold.
In the same way, the Lord tests a person’s heart.
4 An evil person listens to evil words.
A liar pays attention to cruel words.
5 If you make fun of the poor,
you insult God, who made them.
If you laugh at someone’s trouble,
you will be punished.
19 I am free. I belong to no man. But I make myself a slave to all people. I do this to help save as many people as I can. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew. I did this to help save the Jews. I myself am not ruled by the law. But to those who are ruled by the law I became like a person who is ruled by the law. I did this to help save those who are ruled by the law. 21 To those who are without the law I became like a person who is without the law. I did this to help save those people who are without the law. (But really, I am not without God’s law—I am ruled by Christ’s law.) 22 To those who are weak, I became weak so that I could help save them. I have become all things to all people. I did this so that I could save some of them in any way possible. 23 I do all this because of the Good News. I do it so that I can share in the blessings of the Good News.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.