Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 131

A Song of ^[a]Ascents. Of David.

¹ Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty; neither do I exercise myself in matters too great or in things too wonderful for me.

² Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me [ceased from fretting].

³ O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forever.

13 Thus the Lord said to me: Go and buy yourself a linen girdle and put it on your loins, but do not put it in water.

² So I bought a girdle or waistcloth, according to the word of the Lord, and put it on my loins.

³ And the word of the Lord came to me the second time, saying,

⁴ Take the girdle which you have bought, which is on your loins, and arise, go to the [river] Euphrates, and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.

⁵ So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me.

⁶ And after many days the Lord said to me, Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the girdle which I commanded you to hide there.

⁷ Then I went to the Euphrates and dug and took the girdle or waistcloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the girdle was decayed and spoiled; it was good for nothing.

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

⁹ Thus says the Lord: After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem.

¹⁰ These evil people, who refuse to hear My words, who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and have gone after other gods to serve them and to worship them, shall even be like this girdle or waistcloth, which is profitable for nothing.

¹¹ For as the girdle clings to the loins of a man, so I caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me, says the Lord, that they might be for Me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory; but they would not listen or obey.

13 [Now] before the Passover Feast began, Jesus knew (was fully aware) that the time had come for Him to leave this world and return to the Father. And as He had loved those who were His own in the world, He loved them to the last and ^[a]to the highest degree.

² So [it was] during supper, Satan having already put the thought of betraying Jesus in the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son,

³ [That] Jesus, knowing (fully aware) that the Father had put everything into His hands, and that He had come from God and was [now] returning to God,

⁴ Got up from supper, took off His garments, and taking a [servant’s] towel, He fastened it around His waist.

⁵ Then He poured water into the washbasin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the [servant’s] towel with which He was girded.

⁶ When He came to Simon Peter, [Peter] said to Him, Lord, are my feet to be washed by You? [Is it for You to wash my feet?]

⁷ Jesus said to him, You do not understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later on.

⁸ Peter said to Him, You shall never wash my feet! Jesus answered him, Unless I wash you, you have no part with (^[b]in) Me [you have no share in companionship with Me].

⁹ Simon Peter said to Him, Lord, [wash] not only my feet, but my hands and my head too!

¹⁰ Jesus said to him, Anyone who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is clean all over. And you [My disciples] are clean, but not all of you.

¹¹ For He knew who was going to betray Him; that was the reason He said, Not all of you are clean.

¹² So when He had finished washing their feet and had put on His garments and had sat down again, He said to them, Do you understand what I have done to you?

¹³ You call Me the Teacher (Master) and the Lord, and you are right in doing so, for that is what I am.

¹⁴ If I then, your Lord and Teacher (Master), have washed your feet, you ought [it is your duty, you are under obligation, you owe it] to wash one another’s feet.

¹⁵ For I have given you this as an example, so that you should do [in your turn] what I have done to you.

¹⁶ I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, A servant is not greater than his master, and no one who is sent is superior to the one who sent him.

¹⁷ If you know these things, blessed and happy and ^[c]to be envied are you if you practice them [if you act accordingly and really do them].