Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 146
The God of Compassion
1 Hallelujah!
My soul, praise the Lord.(A)
2 I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing to my God as long as I live.(B)
3 Do not trust in nobles,
in man, who cannot save.(C)
4 When his breath[a] leaves him,
he returns to the ground;
on that day his plans die.(D)
5 Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,(E)
6 the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in them.(F)
He remains faithful forever,(G)
7 executing justice for the exploited
and giving food to the hungry.(H)
The Lord frees prisoners.(I)
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.(J)
The Lord raises up those who are oppressed.[b](K)
The Lord loves the righteous.(L)
9 The Lord protects foreigners
and helps the fatherless and the widow,(M)
but He frustrates the ways of the wicked.(N)
10 The Lord reigns forever;
Zion, your God reigns for all generations.(O)
Hallelujah!
3 A sensible person sees danger and takes cover,
but the inexperienced keep going and are punished.(B)
4 The result of humility is fear of the Lord,
along with wealth, honor, and life.(C)
5 There are thorns and snares on the path of the crooked;(D)
the one who guards himself stays far from them.
6 Teach a youth about the way he should go;(E)
even when he is old he will not depart from it.
8 The one who sows injustice will reap disaster,(H)
and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.
11 The one who loves a pure heart
and gracious lips—the king is his friend.(M)
12 The Lord’s eyes keep watch over knowledge,
but He overthrows the words of the treacherous.
13 The slacker says, “There’s a lion outside!
I’ll be killed in the public square!”(N)
14 The mouth of the forbidden woman is a deep pit;
a man cursed by the Lord will fall into it.(O)
15 Foolishness is tangled up in the heart of a youth;
the rod of discipline will drive it away from him.(P)
16 Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself,
and giving to the rich—both lead only to poverty.(Q)
8 I am not saying this as a command. Rather, by means of the diligence of others, I am testing the genuineness of your love. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: Though He was rich,(A) for your sake He became poor,(B) so that by His poverty you might become rich. 10 Now I am giving an opinion on this because it is profitable for you, who a year ago began not only to do something but also to desire it.[a](C) 11 But now finish the task[b] as well, that just as there was eagerness to desire it, so there may also be a completion from what you have. 12 For if the eagerness is there, it is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.(D) 13 It is not that there may be relief for others and hardship for you, but it is a question of equality[c]— 14 at the present time your surplus is available for their need, so their abundance may also become available for our need, so there may be equality. 15 As it has been written:
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