Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 32
The Joy of Forgiveness
Davidic. A Maskil.
1 How joyful is the one
whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered!(A)
2 How joyful is the man
the Lord does not charge with sin(B)
and in whose spirit is no deceit!(C)
3 When I kept silent, my bones became brittle
from my groaning all day long.(D)
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy on me;(E)
my strength was drained[a]
as in the summer’s heat.(F)
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to You
and did not conceal my iniquity.
I said,
“I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and You took away the guilt of my sin.(G)
6 Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to You
at a time that You may be found.[b](H)
When great floodwaters come,
they will not reach him.(I)
7 You are my hiding place;(J)
You protect me from trouble.(K)
You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance.
Cain Murders Abel
4 Adam was intimate with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. She said, “I have had a male child with the Lord’s help.”[a] 2 Then she also gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel became a shepherd of flocks, but Cain worked the ground. 3 In the course of time Cain presented some of the land’s produce as an offering to the Lord.(A) 4 And Abel also presented an offering—some of the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions.(B) The Lord had regard for Abel and his offering,(C) 5 but He did not have regard for Cain and his offering. Cain was furious, and he looked despondent.[b]
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you furious?(D) And why do you look despondent?[c] 7 If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”(E)
8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”[d] And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.(F)
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s guardian?”
10 Then He said, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground!(G) 11 So now you are cursed, alienated, from the ground that opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood you have shed.[e] 12 If you work the ground, it will never again give you its yield. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”(H)
13 But Cain answered the Lord, “My punishment[f] is too great to bear! 14 Since You are banishing me today from the soil, and I must hide myself from Your presence and become a restless wanderer on the earth, whoever finds me will kill me.”(I)
15 Then the Lord replied to him, “In that case,[g] whoever kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.”[h] And He placed a mark(J) on Cain so that whoever found him would not kill him. 16 Then Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
Our Great High Priest
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to the confession.(A) 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are,(B) yet without sin.(C) 16 Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.
The Messiah, a High Priest
5 For every high priest taken from men is appointed in service[a] to God for the people, to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he is also subject to weakness.(D) 3 Because of this, he must make a sin offering for himself as well as for the people.(E) 4 No one takes this honor on himself; instead, a person is called by God, just as Aaron was.(F) 5 In the same way, the Messiah did not exalt Himself to become a high priest, but the One who said to Him, You are My Son; today I have become Your Father,(G)[b] 6 also said in another passage, You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.(H)[c]
7 During His earthly life,[d] He offered prayers and appeals(I) with loud cries and tears(J) to the One who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence. 8 Though He was God’s Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered.(K) 9 After He was perfected, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him, 10 and He was declared by God a high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
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