Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

^[a] To the director: A song of David, the Lord’s servant. He sang this song to the Lord when the Lord saved him from Saul and all his other enemies.

No One Escapes God’s Judgment

¹⁴ You leaders in Jerusalem should listen to the Lord’s message, but now you refuse to listen to him. ¹⁵ You have said, “We have made an agreement with death. We have a contract with death. So we will not be punished. Punishment will pass us without hurting us. We will hide behind our tricks and lies.”

¹⁶ Because of these things, the Lord God says, “I will put a rock—a cornerstone—in the ground in Zion. This will be a very precious stone.^[a] Everything will be built on this very important rock. Anyone who trusts in that rock will not be disappointed.^[b]

¹⁷ “Workers use a string and weight to show their work is straight and true. I will use justice as the string and goodness as the weight when I lay that foundation. But your safe places were built on lies. So they will be destroyed and washed away when the troubles come against you like hail storms and floods. ¹⁸ Your agreement with death will be erased. Your contract with Sheol will not help you.

“Someone will come and punish you. He will make you like the dirt he walks on. ¹⁹ He will come and take you away. Your punishment will be terrible. Your punishment will come early in the morning, and it will continue late into the night.

“Then you will understand this story: ²⁰ A man tried to sleep on a bed that was too short for him. He had a blanket that was not wide enough to cover him. The bed and blanket were useless, and so were your agreements.”

²¹ The Lord will fight as he did at Mount Perazim. He will be angry as he was in Gibeon Valley.^[c] He will do what he must do. It will be what some stranger should do, but he will finish his work. Yes, this is a stranger’s job. ²² Now don’t complain about these things. If you fight against them, you will only tighten the ropes around you.

The words I heard will not change. They came from the Lord God All-Powerful, the ruler of all the earth, and these things will be done.

A Woman Does Something Special^(A)

⁶ Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper. ⁷ While he was there, a woman came to him. She had an alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. She poured the perfume on Jesus’ head while he was eating.

⁸ The followers saw the woman do this and were upset at her. They said, “Why waste that perfume? ⁹ It could be sold for a lot of money, and the money could be given to those who are poor.”

¹⁰ But Jesus knew what happened. He said, “Why are you bothering this woman? She did a very good thing for me. ¹¹ You will always have the poor with you.^[a] But you will not always have me. ¹² This woman poured perfume on my body. She did this to prepare me for burial after I die. ¹³ The Good News will be told to people all over the world. And I can assure you that everywhere the Good News is told, the story of what this woman did will also be told, and people will remember her.”