Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
An Evening Prayer for Sanctification and Protection.
A Psalm of David.
141 O Lord, I call upon You; (A)hasten to me!
(B)Give ear to my voice when I call to You!
2 May my prayer be [a]counted as (C)incense before You;
The (D)lifting up of my hands as the (E)evening offering.
3 Set a (F)guard, O Lord, [b]over my mouth;
Keep watch over the (G)door of my lips.
4 (H)Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice deeds [c]of wickedness
With men who (I)do iniquity;
And (J)do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5 Let the (K)righteous smite me [d]in kindness and reprove me;
It is (L)oil upon the head;
Do not let my head refuse it,
[e]For still my prayer (M)is [f]against their wicked deeds.
6 Their judges are (N)thrown down by the sides of the rock,
And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.
7 As when one (O)plows and breaks open the earth,
Our (P)bones have been scattered at the (Q)mouth of [g]Sheol.
8 For my (R)eyes are toward You, O [h]God, the Lord;
In You I (S)take refuge; (T)do not [i]leave me defenseless.
9 Keep me from the [j](U)jaws of the trap which they have set for me,
And from the (V)snares of those who do iniquity.
10 Let the wicked (W)fall into their own nets,
While I pass by [k](X)safely.
21 “And I will set My (A)glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgment which I have executed and My hand which I have laid on them. 22 And the house of Israel will (B)know that I am the Lord their God from that day onward. 23 The nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile for their (C)iniquity because they acted treacherously against Me, and I (D)hid My face from them; so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and all of them fell by the sword. 24 (E)According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I dealt with them, and I hid My face from them.”’”
Israel Restored
25 Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Now I will [a](F)restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole (G)house of Israel; and I will be (H)jealous for My holy name. 26 They will [b](I)forget their disgrace and all their treachery which they [c]perpetrated against Me, when they (J)live securely on their own land with (K)no one to make them afraid. 27 When I (L)bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, then I shall be (M)sanctified [d]through them in the sight of the many nations. 28 Then they will know that I am the Lord their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer. 29 I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have (N)poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,” declares the Lord God.
Vision of the Man with a Measuring Rod
40 In the (O)twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the (P)city was [e]taken, on that same day the (Q)hand of the Lord was upon me and He brought me there. 2 In the (R)visions of God He brought me into the land of Israel and set me on a very (S)high mountain, and on it (T)to the south there was a (U)structure like a city. 3 So He brought me there; and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of (V)bronze, with a (W)line of flax and a (X)measuring [f]rod in his hand; and he was standing in the gateway. 4 The man said to me, “(Y)Son of man, (Z)see with your eyes, hear with your ears, and give attention to all that I am going to show you; for you have been brought here in order to show it to you. (AA)Declare to the house of Israel all that you see.”
23 (A)All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things (B)edify. 24 Let no one (C)seek his own good, but that of his [a]neighbor. 25 (D)Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions for conscience’ sake; 26 (E)for the earth is the Lord’s, and [b]all it contains. 27 If (F)one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, (G)eat anything that is set before you without asking questions for conscience’ sake. 28 But (H)if anyone says to you, “This is meat sacrificed to idols,” do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience’ sake; 29 I mean not your own conscience, but the other man’s; for (I)why is my freedom judged by another’s conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, (J)why am I slandered concerning that for which I (K)give thanks?
31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or (L)whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 (M)Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to (N)the church of God; 33 just as I also (O)please all men in all things, (P)not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, (Q)so that they may be saved.
Christian Order
11 (R)Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.
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