Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

25 To you, O Lord, I pray. ² Don’t fail me, Lord, for I am trusting you. Don’t let my enemies succeed. Don’t give them victory over me. ³ None of those who have faith in God will ever be disgraced for trusting him. But all who harm the innocent shall be defeated.

⁴ Show me the path where I should go, O Lord; point out the right road for me to walk. ⁵ Lead me; teach me; for you are the God who gives me salvation. I have no hope except in you. ^6-7 Overlook my youthful sins, O Lord! Look at me instead through eyes of mercy and forgiveness, through eyes of everlasting love and kindness.

⁸ The Lord is good and glad to teach the proper path to all who go astray; ⁹ he will teach the ways that are right and best to those who humbly turn to him.

⁵ “But if a man is just and does what is lawful and right, ⁶ and has not gone out to the mountains to feast before the idols of Israel and worship them, and does not commit adultery nor lie with any woman during the time of her menstruation; ⁷ if he is a merciful creditor, not holding onto the items given to him in pledge by poor debtors, and is no robber but gives food to the hungry and clothes to those in need; ⁸ and if he grants loans without interest,^[a] stays away from sin, is honest and fair when judging others, ⁹ and obeys my laws—that man is just,” says the Lord, “and he shall surely live.

¹⁰ “But if that man has a son who is a robber or murderer and who fulfills none of his responsibilities, ¹¹ who refuses to obey the laws of God but worships idols on the mountains and commits adultery, ¹² oppresses the poor and helpless, robs his debtors by refusing to let them redeem what they have given him in pledge, loves idols and worships them, ¹³ and loans out his money at interest^[b]—shall that man live? No! He shall surely die, and it is his own fault.

¹⁴ “But if this sinful man has, in turn, a son who sees all his father’s wickedness, so that he fears God and decides against that kind of life; ¹⁵ he doesn’t go up on the mountains to feast before the idols and worship them and does not commit adultery; ¹⁶ he is fair to those who borrow from him and doesn’t rob them, but feeds the hungry, clothes the needy, ¹⁷ helps the poor, does not loan money at interest, and obeys my laws—he shall not die because of his father’s sins; he shall surely live. ¹⁸ But his father shall die for his own sins because he is cruel and robs and does wrong.

^32-33 “And now Barnabas and I are here to bring you this Good News—that God’s promise to our ancestors has come true in our own time, in that God brought Jesus back to life again. This is what the second Psalm is talking about when it says concerning Jesus, ‘Today I have honored you as my Son.’^[a]

³⁴ “For God had promised to bring him back to life again, no more to die. This is stated in the Scripture that says, ‘I will do for you the wonderful thing I promised David.’ ³⁵ In another Psalm he explained more fully, saying, ‘God will not let his Holy One decay.’ ³⁶ This was not a reference to David, for after David had served his generation according to the will of God, he died and was buried, and his body decayed. ³⁷ No, it was a reference to another^[b]—someone God brought back to life, whose body was not touched at all by the ravages of death.

³⁸ “Brothers! Listen! In this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins! ³⁹ Everyone who trusts in him is freed from all guilt and declared righteous—something the Jewish law could never do. ⁴⁰ Oh, be careful! Don’t let the prophets’ words apply to you. For they said, ⁴¹ ‘Look and perish, you despisers of the truth,^[c] for I am doing something in your day—something that you won’t believe when you hear it announced.’”