Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 38[a]
A psalm of David, written to get God’s attention.[b]
38 O Lord, do not continue to rebuke me in your anger.
Do not continue to punish me in your raging fury.[c]
2 For your arrows pierce[d] me,
and your hand presses me down.[e]
3 My whole body is sick because of your judgment;[f]
I am deprived of health because of my sin.[g]
4 For my sins overwhelm me;[h]
like a heavy load, they are too much for me to bear.
5 My wounds[i] are infected and starting to smell,[j]
because of my foolish sins.[k]
6 I am dazed[l] and completely humiliated;[m]
all day long I walk around mourning.
7 For I am overcome with shame,[n]
and my whole body is sick.[o]
8 I am numb with pain and severely battered;[p]
I groan loudly because of the anxiety I feel.[q]
9 O Lord, you understand my heart’s desire;[r]
my groaning is not hidden from you.
10 My heart beats quickly;
my strength leaves me.
I can hardly see.[s]
11 Because of my condition,[t] even my friends and acquaintances keep their distance;[u]
my neighbors stand far away.[v]
12 Those who seek my life try to entrap me;[w]
those who want to harm me speak destructive words.
All day long they say deceitful things.
13 But I am like a deaf man—I hear nothing;
I am like a mute who cannot speak.[x]
14 I am like a man who cannot hear
and is incapable of arguing his defense.[y]
15 Yet[z] I wait for you, O Lord!
You will respond, O Lord, my God!
16 I have prayed for deliverance, because otherwise they will gloat over me;[aa]
when my foot slips they will arrogantly taunt me.[ab]
17 For I am about to stumble,
and I am in constant pain.[ac]
18 Yes,[ad] I confess my wrongdoing,
and I am concerned about my sins.
19 But those who are my enemies for no reason are numerous;[ae]
those who hate me without cause outnumber me.[af]
20 They repay me evil for the good I have done;
though I have tried to do good to them, they hurl accusations at me.[ag]
21 Do not abandon me, O Lord.
My God, do not remain far away from me.
22 Hurry and help me,[ah] O Lord, my deliverer.
The Lord Will Not Abandon His People
18 For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy;
he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you.[a]
Indeed, the Lord is a just God;
all who wait for him in faith will be blessed.[b]
19 For people will live in Zion;
in Jerusalem you will weep no more.[c]
When he hears your cry of despair, he will indeed show you mercy;
when he hears it, he will respond to you.[d]
20 The Lord[e] will give you distress to eat
and suffering to drink;[f]
but your teachers will no longer be hidden;
your eyes will see them.[g]
21 You[h] will hear a word spoken behind you, saying,
“This is the correct[i] way, walk in it,”
whether you are heading to the right or the left.
22 You will desecrate your silver-plated idols[j]
and your gold-plated images.[k]
You will throw them away as if they were a menstrual rag,
saying to them, “Get out!”
23 He will water the seed you plant in the ground,
and the ground will produce crops in abundance.[l]
At that time[m] your cattle will graze in wide pastures.
24 The oxen and donkeys used in plowing[n]
will eat seasoned feed winnowed with a shovel and pitchfork.[o]
25 On every high mountain
and every high hill
there will be streams flowing with water,
at the time of[p] great slaughter when the fortified towers collapse.
26 The light of the full moon will be like the sun’s glare,
and the sun’s glare will be seven times brighter,
like the light of seven days,[q]
when the Lord binds up his people’s fractured bones[r]
and heals their severe wound.[s]
Paul and Barnabas at Lystra
8 In[a] Lystra[b] sat a man who could not use his feet,[c] lame from birth,[d] who had never walked. 9 This man was listening to Paul as he was speaking. When Paul[e] stared[f] intently at him and saw he had faith to be healed, 10 he said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.”[g] And the man[h] leaped up and began walking.[i] 11 So when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted[j] in the Lycaonian language,[k] “The gods have come down to us in human form!”[l] 12 They began to call[m] Barnabas Zeus[n] and Paul Hermes,[o] because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of the temple[p] of Zeus,[q] located just outside the city, brought bulls[r] and garlands[s] to the city gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifices to them.[t] 14 But when the apostles[u] Barnabas and Paul heard about[v] it, they tore[w] their clothes and rushed out[x] into the crowd, shouting,[y] 15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We too are men, with human natures[z] just like you! We are proclaiming the good news to you, so that you should turn[aa] from these worthless[ab] things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth,[ac] the sea, and everything that is in them. 16 In[ad] past[ae] generations he allowed all the nations[af] to go their own ways, 17 yet he did not leave himself without a witness by doing good,[ag] by giving you rain from heaven[ah] and fruitful seasons, satisfying you[ai] with food and your hearts with joy.”[aj] 18 Even by saying[ak] these things, they scarcely persuaded[al] the crowds not to offer sacrifice to them.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.