Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
7 My face is covered with shame.
I carry this shame for you.
8 My own brothers treat me like a stranger.
They act as if I came from a foreign land.
9 My strong devotion to your Temple is destroying me.
Those who insult you are also insulting me.
10 When I spend time crying and fasting,
they make fun of me.
11 When I wear sackcloth to show my sorrow,
they tell jokes about me.
12 They talk about me in public places.
The beer drinkers make up songs about me.
13 As for me, Lord, this is my prayer to you:
Please accept me!
God, I want you to answer me with love.
I know I can trust you to save me.
14 Pull me from the mud,
and don’t let me sink down deeper.
Save me from those who hate me.
Save me from this deep water.
15 Don’t let the waves drown me.
Don’t let the deep sea swallow me
or the grave close its mouth on me.
16 Answer me, Lord, from the goodness of your faithful love.
Out of your great kindness turn to me and help me!
17 Don’t turn away from your servant.
I am in trouble, so hurry and help me!
18 Come save my soul.
Rescue me from my enemies.
12 But the people of Judah will answer, ‘We don’t care what you say. We will continue to do what we want. We will do the evil our stubborn hearts want.’”
13 Listen to what the Lord says:
“Ask the other nations this question:
‘Have you ever heard of anything so bad?’
Israel, who is as dear to me as a young daughter,
has done this terrible thing!
14 It is as strange as not finding snow on Lebanon’s mountains
or seeing the cool streams that come from there stop flowing.
That just does not happen!
15 But my people have forgotten me.
They burn offerings to worthless idols.
They have left the right way that their ancestors followed,
and they stumble on the path they have chosen.
Instead of staying on the good road I showed them,
they prefer to walk on bumpy paths.
16 So their land will become an empty desert,
a place for people from now on to make fun of.
All who pass by there will be shocked by what has happened.
They will just shake their heads at what they see.
17 Like a strong east wind, I will scatter my people.
I will use their enemies to scatter them like dust.
When disaster comes upon them,
they will see me leaving, not coming to help.”
Christ Became Like People to Save Them
5 God did not choose angels to be the rulers over the new world that was coming. That future world is the world we have been talking about. 6 It is written some place in the Scriptures,
“Why are people so important to you?
Why do you even think about them?
Why do you care about the son of man[a]?
Is he so important?
7 For a short time you made him lower than the angels.
You crowned him with glory and honor.
8 You put everything under his control.[b]” (A)
If God put everything under his control, then there was nothing left that he did not rule. But we don’t yet see him ruling over everything. 9 For a short time Jesus was made lower than the angels, but now we see him wearing a crown of glory and honor because he suffered and died. Because of God’s grace, Jesus died for everyone.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International