Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 25

[A Psalm] of David.

¹ Unto You, O Lord, do I bring my life.

² O my God, I trust, lean on, rely on, and am confident in You. Let me not be put to shame or [my hope in You] be disappointed; let not my enemies triumph over me.

³ Yes, let none who trust and wait hopefully and look for You be put to shame or be disappointed; let them be ashamed who forsake the right or deal treacherously without cause.

⁴ Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths.

⁵ Guide me in Your truth and faithfulness and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You [You only and altogether] do I wait [expectantly] all the day long.

⁶ Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercy and loving-kindness; for they have been ever from of old.

⁷ Remember not the sins (the lapses and frailties) of my youth or my transgressions; according to Your mercy and steadfast love remember me, for Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.

⁸ Good and upright is the Lord; therefore will He instruct sinners in [His] way.

⁹ He leads the humble in what is right, and the humble He teaches His way.

⁵ But if a man is [uncompromisingly] righteous (upright and in right standing with God) and does what is lawful and right,

⁶ And has not eaten [at the idol shrines] upon the mountains nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, has not defiled his neighbor’s wife nor come near to a woman in her time of impurity,

⁷ And has not wronged anyone but has restored to the debtor his pledge, has taken nothing by robbery but has given his bread to the hungry and has covered the naked with a garment,

⁸ Who does not charge interest or percentage of increase on what he lends [in compassion], who withholds his hand from iniquity, who executes true justice between man and man,

⁹ Who has walked in My statutes and kept My ordinances, to deal justly; [then] he is [truly] righteous; he shall surely live, says the Lord God.^(A)

¹⁰ If he begets a son who is a robber or a shedder of blood, who does to a brother either of these sins of violence,

¹¹ And leaves undone all of the duties [of a righteous man], and has even eaten [the food set before idols] on the mountains and defiled his neighbor’s wife,

¹² Has wronged the poor and needy, has taken by robbery, has not restored [to the debtor] his pledge, has lifted up his eyes to the idols, has committed abomination (things hateful and exceedingly vile in the eyes of God),

¹³ And has charged interest or percentage of increase on what he has loaned [in supposed compassion]; shall he then live? He shall not live! He has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.

¹⁴ But if this wicked man begets a son who sees all the sins which his father has committed, and considers and fears [God] and does not do like his father,

¹⁵ Who has not eaten [food set before idols] upon the mountains nor has lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, has not defiled his neighbor’s wife,

¹⁶ Nor wronged anyone, nor has taken anything in pledge, nor has taken by robbery but has given his bread to the hungry and has covered the naked with a garment,

¹⁷ Who has withdrawn his hand from [oppressing] the poor, who has not received interest or increase [from the needy] but has executed My ordinances and has walked in My statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father; he shall surely live.

¹⁸ As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, robbed his brother, and did that which is not good among his people, behold, he shall die for his iniquity and guilt.

³² So now we are bringing you the good news (Gospel) that what God promised to our forefathers,

³³ This He has ^[a]completely fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second psalm, You are My Son; today I have begotten You [^[b]caused You to arise, to be born; ^[c]formally shown You to be the Messiah by the resurrection].^(A)

³⁴ And as to His having raised Him from among the dead, now no more to return to [undergo] putrefaction and dissolution [of the grave], He spoke in this way, I will fulfill and give to you the holy and sure mercy and blessings [that were promised and assured] to David.^(B)

³⁵ For this reason He says also in another psalm, You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption [to undergo putrefaction and dissolution of the grave].^(C)

³⁶ For David, after he had served God’s will and purpose and counsel in his own generation, fell asleep [^[d]in death] and was buried among his forefathers, and he did see corruption and undergo putrefaction and dissolution [of the grave].

³⁷ But He Whom God raised up [to life] saw no corruption [did not experience putrefaction and dissolution of the grave].

³⁸ So let it be clearly known and understood by you, brethren, that through this Man forgiveness and removal of sins is now proclaimed to you;

³⁹ And that through Him everyone who believes [who ^[e]acknowledges Jesus as his Savior and devotes himself to Him] is absolved (cleared and freed) from every charge from which he could not be justified and freed by the Law of Moses and given right standing with God.

⁴⁰ Take care, therefore, lest there come upon you what is spoken in the prophets:

⁴¹ Look, you scoffers and scorners, and marvel and perish and vanish away; for I am doing a deed in your days, a deed which you will never have confidence in or believe, [even] if someone [^[f]clearly describing it in detail] declares it to you.^(D)