Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
11 Teach me your way, O Lord,
that I may walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart to revere your name.(A)
12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
and I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your steadfast love toward me;
you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.(B)
14 O God, the insolent rise up against me;
a band of ruffians seeks my life,
and they do not set you before them.(C)
15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.(D)
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me;
give your strength to your servant;
save the child of your maidservant.(E)
17 Show me a sign of your favor,
so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame,
because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.(F)
The Futility of Idols
21 Set forth your case, says the Lord;
bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.(A)
22 Let them bring them and tell us
what is to happen.
Tell us the former things, what they were,
so that we may consider them
and that we may know their outcome
or declare to us the things to come.(B)
23 Tell us what is to come hereafter,
that we may know that you are gods;
do good, or do harm,
that we may be afraid and terrified.(C)
24 You, indeed, are nothing,
and your work is nothing at all;
whoever chooses you is an abomination.(D)
25 I stirred up one from the north, and he has come,
from the rising of the sun he was summoned by name.[a]
He shall trample[b] on rulers as on mortar,
as the potter treads clay.(E)
26 Who declared it from the beginning, so that we might know,
and beforehand, so that we might say, “He is right”?
There was no one who declared it, none who proclaimed,
none who heard your words.(F)
27 I first have declared it to Zion,[c]
and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good tidings.(G)
28 But when I look there is no one;
among these there is no counselor
who, when I ask, gives an answer.(H)
29 No, they are all a delusion;
their works are nothing;
their images are empty wind.(I)
Warning to Pay Attention
2 Therefore we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For if the message declared through angels proved valid, and every transgression or disobedience received a just penalty,(A) 3 how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? It was declared at first through the Lord, and it was confirmed for us by those who heard him,(B) 4 while God added his testimony by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to his will.(C)
Exaltation through Abasement
5 Now God[a] did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels.(D) 6 But someone has testified somewhere,
“What are humans that you are mindful of them[b]
or mortals that you care for them?[c](E)
7 You have made them for a little while lower[d] than the angels;
you have crowned them with glory and honor,[e]
8 subjecting all things under their feet.”
Now in subjecting all things to them, God[f] left nothing outside their control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them,(F) 9 but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower[g] than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God[h] he might taste death for everyone.(G)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.