Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
When Things Go Wrong
41 Blessed is the one who is considerate of the destitute;[a]
the Lord will deliver him when the times are evil.
2 The Lord will protect him and keep him alive;
he will be blessed in the land;
and he will not be handed over to the desires of his enemies.
3 The Lord will uphold him even on his sickbed;
you will transform his bed of illness into health.
4 As for me, I said,
“Lord, be gracious to me!
Heal me, for I have sinned against you!”
5 As for my enemies, with malice they said,
“When will he die and memory of[b] his name perish?”
6 The one who comes to visit me speaks lies;
in his heart he thinks slanderous things about me
and goes around spreading them.
7 As for all who hate me,
they whisper together against me;
they desire to do me harm.
8 They say, “Wickedness is entrenched in him.
Once he is brought low,
he will not rise again.”
9 As for my best friend,
the one in whom I trusted,
the one who ate my bread,
even he has insulted[c] me!
10 But you, Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up
so that I may pay them back!
11 In this way I will know that you are pleased with me,
and that my enemies will not shout in triumph over me.
12 As for me, you will maintain my just cause,
and you will cause me to stand in your presence forever.
13 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
from eternity to eternity.
Amen and amen!
The Visit by Merodach-baladan
39 At that time Merodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, when[a] he heard he had been sick and had survived.[b] 2 Hezekiah was delighted with them, and showed them everything in[c] his treasure-houses[d]—the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oils, his entire armory, and everything found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom[e] that Hezekiah did not show them.
Isaiah Rebukes Hezekiah
3 Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men have to say? And from where did they come to you?”
Hezekiah replied, “From a distant land—they came to me from Babylon.”
4 “What did they see in your palace?” he asked.
“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah replied. “There is nothing in my treasuries that I did not show them.”
5 Then Isaiah told Hezekiah, “Listen to this message[f] from the Lord of the Heavenly Armies: 6 ‘The days are surely coming when everything in your palace and all that your ancestors have stored up to this day will be carried off[g] to Babylon. They will come in, and[h] nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. 7 ‘Then some of your own sons, who will come from your loins,[i] whom you will father, will be taken away to become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”
8 “The message from the Lord that you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied to Isaiah, since he was thinking, “…at least there will be peace and security in my lifetime.”
Jesus Heals Many People(A)
38 Then Jesus[a] got up to leave the synagogue and went into Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was sick with a high fever, so they asked Jesus[b] about her. 39 He bent over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began serving them. 40 When the sun was setting, everyone who had any friends[c] suffering from various diseases brought them to him. He placed his hands on each of them and began healing them. 41 Even demons came out of many people, screaming, “You are the Son of God!” But Jesus[d] rebuked them and ordered them not to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.[e]
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