Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
To the director: A song of David.
40 I called[a] to the Lord, and he heard me.
He heard my cries.
2 He lifted me out of the grave.[b]
He lifted me from that muddy place.[c]
He picked me up, put me on solid ground,
and kept my feet from slipping.
3 He put a new song[d] in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see what he did and worship him.
They will put their trust in the Lord.
4 Great blessings belong to those who trust in the Lord,
for those who do not turn to demons and false gods[e] for help.
5 Lord my God, you have done many amazing things!
You have made great plans for us—too many to list.
I could talk on and on about them,
because there are too many to count.
6 Lord, you made me understand this:[f]
You don’t really want sacrifices and grain offerings.
You don’t want burnt offerings and sin offerings.
7 So I said, “Here I am,
ready to do what was written about me in the book.
8 My God, I am happy to do whatever you want.
I never stop thinking about your teachings.”
Return to the Lord
14 Israel, you fell and sinned against God. So come back to the Lord your God. 2 Think about what you will say, and come back to the Lord. Say to him,
“Take away our sin,
and accept these words as our sacrifice.
We offer you the praise from our lips.[a]
3 Assyria will not save us.
We will not ride on war horses.
We will never again say, ‘Our God’
to something we made with our hands.
This is because you are the one who
shows mercy to orphans.”
The Lord Will Forgive Israel
4 The Lord says,
“I will forgive them for leaving me.
I will show them my love without limits,
because I have stopped being angry.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel.
Israel will blossom like the lily.
He will grow like the cedar trees of Lebanon.
6 His branches will grow,
and he will be like a beautiful olive tree.
He will be like the sweet smell
from the cedar trees of Lebanon.
7 The people of Israel will again live under my protection.
They will grow like grain.
They will bloom like a vine.
They will be like the wine of Lebanon.
The Lord Warns Israel About Idols
8 “Ephraim, I will have nothing more to do with idols.
I am the one who answers your prayers and watches over you.[b]
I am like a fir tree that is always green.
Your fruit comes from me.”
Final Advice
9 A wise person understands these things,
and a smart person should learn them.
The Lord’s ways are right.
Good people will live by them.
Sinners will die by them.[c]
Jesus Is Lord Over the Sabbath Day(A)
12 About that same time, Jesus was walking through the fields of grain on a Sabbath day. His followers were with him, and they were hungry. So they began to pick the grain and eat it. 2 The Pharisees saw this. They said to Jesus, “Look! Your followers are doing something that is against the law to do on the Sabbath day.”
3 Jesus said to them, “You have read what David did when he and those with him were hungry. 4 David went into God’s house. He and those with him ate the bread that was offered to God. It was against the law for David or those with him to eat that bread. Only the priests were allowed to eat it. 5 And you have read in the Law of Moses that on every Sabbath day the priests at the Temple break the law about the Sabbath day. But they are not wrong for doing that. 6 I tell you that there is something here that is greater than the Temple. 7 The Scriptures say, ‘I don’t want animal sacrifices; I want you to show kindness to people.’[a] You don’t really know what that means. If you understood it, you would not judge those who have done nothing wrong.
8 “The Son of Man is Lord over the Sabbath day.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International