Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 40
Thanksgiving and a Cry for Help
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 I waited patiently for the Lord,
and he turned to me and heard my cry for help.(A)
2 He brought me up from a desolate[a] pit,
out of the muddy clay,(B)
and set my feet on a rock,
making my steps secure.(C)
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.(D)
Many will see and fear,
and they will trust in the Lord.(E)
4 How happy is anyone
who has put his trust in the Lord
and has not turned to the proud
or to those who run after lies!(F)
5 Lord my God, you have done many things—
your wondrous works and your plans for us;
none can compare with you.
If I were to report and speak of them,
they are more than can be told.(G)
11 When Ephraim multiplied his altars for sin,(A)
they became his altars for sinning.
12 Though I were to write out for him
ten thousand points of my instruction,(B)
they would be[a] regarded as something strange.
13 Though they offer sacrificial gifts[b](C)
and eat the flesh,(D)
the Lord does not accept them.
Now he will remember their guilt(E)
and punish their sins;(F)
they will return to Egypt.(G)
14 Israel has forgotten his Maker(H) and built palaces;(I)
Judah has also multiplied fortified cities.
I will send fire on their cities,(J)
and it will consume their citadels.
The Vine and the Calf
10 Israel is a lush[a] vine;(A)
it yields fruit for itself.
The more his fruit increased,
the more he increased the altars.(B)
The better his land produced,
the better they made the sacred pillars.(C)
2 Their hearts are devious;[b](D)
now they must bear their guilt.(E)
The Lord will break down their altars(F)
and demolish their sacred pillars.
Final Exhortations
13 Let brotherly love(A) continue. 2 Don’t neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it.(B) 3 Remember those in prison, as though you were in prison with them, and the mistreated,[a] as though you yourselves were suffering bodily.[b] 4 Marriage is to be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, because God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.(C) 5 Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you.[c](D) 6 Therefore, we may boldly say,
7 Remember your leaders who have spoken God’s word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith.(F) 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.(G) 9 Don’t be led astray by various kinds of strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be established by grace and not by food regulations, since those who observe them have not benefited.(H) 10 We have an altar from which those who worship at the tabernacle do not have a right to eat.(I) 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the most holy place by the high priest(J) as a sin offering are burned outside the camp.(K) 12 Therefore, Jesus also suffered outside the gate,(L) so that he might sanctify[e] the people by his own blood. 13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing his disgrace.(M) 14 For we do not have an enduring city here; instead, we seek the one to come.(N) 15 Therefore, through him let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.(O) 16 Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.(P)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.