Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
9 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble;
(A)My eye wastes away with grief,
Yes, my soul and my [a]body!
10 For my life is spent with grief,
And my years with sighing;
My strength fails because of my iniquity,
And my bones waste away.
11 (B)I am a [b]reproach among all my enemies,
But (C)especially among my neighbors,
And am repulsive to my acquaintances;
(D)Those who see me outside flee from me.
12 (E)I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a [c]broken vessel.
13 (F)For I hear the slander of many;
(G)Fear is on every side;
While they (H)take counsel together against me,
They scheme to take away my life.
13 “Hold[a] your peace with me, and let me speak,
Then let come on me what may!
14 Why (A)do I take my flesh in my teeth,
And put my life in my hands?
15 (B)Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.
(C)Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.
16 He also shall be my salvation,
For a (D)hypocrite could not come before Him.
17 Listen carefully to my speech,
And to my declaration with your ears.
18 See now, I have prepared my case,
I know that I shall be (E)vindicated.
19 (F)Who is he who will contend with me?
If now I hold my tongue, I perish.
21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I [a]cannot tell. 23 [b]For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a (A)desire to depart and be with Christ, which is (B)far better. 24 Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. 25 And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, 26 that (C)your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.
Striving and Suffering for Christ
27 Only (D)let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, (E)with one mind (F)striving together for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but [c]to you of salvation, and that from God. 29 For to you (G)it has been granted on behalf of Christ, (H)not only to believe in Him, but also to (I)suffer for His sake, 30 (J)having the same conflict (K)which you saw in me and now hear is in me.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.