Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
David wrote this song.
An evening prayer[a]
141 Lord, I am calling to you for help.
Come to me quickly!
Please listen to what I am saying.
2 I offer my prayer to you like incense.
Please accept it when I raise my hands to you.
Accept it like a gift that I offer to you in the evening.
3 Lord, keep my mouth safe,
so that I do not speak bad things.
4 Do not let my mind want evil things.
Do not let me join with wicked people,
to do the same bad things that they do.
I do not even want to eat their good food.
5 If a good man hits me because he loves me,
he is being kind to me.
If he shows me that I have done a wrong thing,
that it is like special oil on my head.[b]
I would not refuse it.
I continue to pray against what wicked people do.
6 They will throw their rulers down
from high rocks.
Then they will agree that my words were true.
7 It will be like a farmer who ploughs his field,
and breaks the earth into pieces.
Just like that, they will break the bones of wicked people.
They will throw their bones on the ground
at the entrance to Sheol.
8 But I look to you for help, Almighty Lord.
I need you to keep me safe.
Do not let wicked people kill me.
9 They have prepared traps to catch me.
Do not let me fall into the traps of those evil people.
10 May those bad people fall into their own traps!
Then I will be free from their power.
14 Then the Lord gave this message to me: 15 ‘Son of man, listen to what the people of Jerusalem are saying about you, your brothers and your relatives. They say this about all the people of Israel who are now in Babylon. They are saying, “Those people have gone far away from the Lord. So now this land belongs to us and we can keep it.”
16 So say this: “This is what the Almighty Lord says. I removed my people from their own land and I sent them far away. I sent them to live among other nations and in other countries. But I am still near to them in the countries where they have gone.”
17 Then say, “This is what the Almighty Lord says. I will fetch you from the places where you have been living. I will bring you back together from those countries. I will give the land of Israel back to you.”
18 The people will return to their land. Then they will destroy their idols and other disgusting things. 19 I will give them new thoughts so that they will choose to worship only me. I will put a new spirit in them. They will no longer refuse to change their way of life. Instead, I will help them to want to obey me. 20 Then they will know my rules and my laws. They will be careful to obey them. They will be my people and I will be their God. 21 But it will be different for those who continue to worship their disgusting idols. I will punish them as they deserve because of the evil things that they have done. That is what the Almighty Lord says.’
22 Then the cherubs lifted up their wings to fly. The wheels were at their sides. And the bright glory of Israel's God was above them. 23 The glory of the Lord rose up and it went away from the city. It stopped over a mountain on the east side of the city.
24 In the vision, a spirit lifted me up and took me back to Babylon. I returned to the Israelites who were prisoners there. That was the end of the vision.
25 I told the Israelites everything that the Lord had shown me in the vision.
25 So you must stop telling lies. Each of you must say only true things to one another. Remember that all of us belong to one another, like parts of the same body. 26 When you are angry, do not do anything bad as a result. Once the day comes to an end, do not continue to be angry. 27 Do not give the Devil a chance to hurt you like that.
28 Any of you who robbed people before must now stop taking things. Instead, you should work hard with your own hands. Then you will be able to share what you have with people who are poor.
29 Do not say bad things that hurt or insult people. Instead, say only good things that will help people. Your words should help people to become strong when they hear them.
30 Do not do anything that will make God's Holy Spirit sad. God gave his Holy Spirit to you to show that you belong to him. As a result you know that God will make you completely free one day.
31 Do not be jealous of other people. Do not become angry or shout at them. Do not quarrel with other people or insult them. Do not do anything or say anything that will hurt other people. 32 Instead, help one another and be kind to each other. Forgive one another. Remember that God has forgiven you because of what Christ has done.
Be very careful how you live
5 You are God's children and he loves you very much. So you must try to be like him. 2 Show that you love other people. Remember how much Christ loved us. He gave himself as a sacrifice on our behalf. He offered himself in a way that pleased God, like a sacrifice with a lovely smell.
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