Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Prayer of a Suffering Penitent.
A Psalm of David, for a memorial.
38 Lord, (A)do not rebuke me in Your wrath,
And do not punish me in Your burning anger.
2 For Your (B)arrows have sunk deep into me,
And (C)Your hand has pressed down on me.
3 There is (D)no healthy part in my flesh (E)because of Your indignation;
There is no health (F)in my bones because of my sin.
4 For my (G)guilty deeds have gone over my head;
Like a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.
5 My [a]wounds grow foul and fester
Because of (H)my foolishness.
6 I am bent over and (I)greatly bowed down;
I (J)go in mourning all day long.
7 For my [b]sides are filled with (K)burning,
And there is (L)no healthy part in my flesh.
8 I feel (M)faint and [c]badly crushed;
I [d](N)groan because of the [e]agitation of my heart.
9 Lord, all (O)my desire is [f]before You;
And my (P)sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart throbs, (Q)my strength fails me;
And the (R)light of my eyes, even [g]that [h]has gone from me.
11 My [i](S)loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;
And my kinsmen (T)stand far away.
12 Those who (U)seek my life (V)lay snares for me;
And those who (W)seek to injure me have [j]threatened destruction,
And they (X)plot deception all day long.
13 But I, like a person who is deaf, do not hear;
And I am like a (Y)person who cannot speak, who does not open his mouth.
14 Yes, I am like a person who does not hear,
And in whose mouth are no arguments.
15 For (Z)I wait for You, Lord;
You (AA)will answer, Lord my God.
16 For I said, “May they not rejoice over me,
Who, when my foot slips, (AB)would exalt themselves over me.”
17 For I am (AC)ready to fall,
And (AD)my [k]sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I (AE)admit my guilt;
I am full of (AF)anxiety because of my sin.
19 But my (AG)enemies are vigorous and [l]strong,
And those who wrongfully (AH)hate me are many.
20 And those who (AI)repay evil for good,
They (AJ)become my enemies, because I follow what is good.
21 Do not abandon me, Lord;
My God, (AK)do not be far from me!
22 (AL)Hurry to help me,
Lord, (AM)my salvation!
God Is Gracious and Just
18 Therefore the Lord [a](A)longs to be gracious to you,
And therefore He [b]waits on (B)high to have compassion on you.
For the Lord is a (C)God of justice;
How blessed are all those who [c](D)long for Him.
19 [d]For, you people in Zion, (E)inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will (F)weep no longer. He will certainly be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will (G)answer you. 20 Although the Lord has given you (H)bread of deprivation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher, will no longer (I)hide Himself, but your eyes will see your Teacher. 21 Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the (J)way, walk in it,” whenever you (K)turn to the right or to the left. 22 And you will desecrate your carved (L)images plated with silver, and your cast metal (M)images plated with gold. You will scatter them as a filthy thing, and say to [e]them, “(N)Be gone!”
23 Then He will (O)give you rain for your seed which you will sow in the ground, and bread from the yield of the ground, and it will be [f]rich and [g]plentiful; on that day (P)your livestock will graze in a wide pasture. 24 Also the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground will eat [h]seasoned feed, which [i]has been (Q)winnowed with shovel and pitchfork. 25 And on every lofty mountain and (R)every high hill there will be [j]streams running with water on the day of the great (S)slaughter, when the towers fall. 26 (T)And the light of the full moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day (U)the Lord binds up the (V)fracture of His people and (W)heals the wound [k]He has inflicted.
8 In (A)Lystra (B)a man was sitting whose feet were incapacitated. He had been disabled from his mother’s womb, and had never walked. 9 This man was listening to Paul as he spoke. Paul (C)looked at him intently and saw that he had (D)faith to be [a]made well, 10 and he said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet!” (E)And the man leaped up and began to walk. 11 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the (F)Lycaonian language, “(G)The gods have become like men and have come down to us!” 12 And they began calling Barnabas, [b]Zeus, and Paul, [c]Hermes, since he was [d]the chief speaker. 13 Moreover, the priest of Zeus, whose temple was [e]just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and (H)wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. 14 But when (I)the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about it, they (J)tore their [f]robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out 15 and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also (K)men, of the same nature as you, (L)preaching the gospel to you, to turn from these [g](M)useless things to a (N)living God, who (O)made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything that is in them. 16 [h]In past generations He (P)permitted all the [i]nations to (Q)go their own ways; 17 yet (R)He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and (S)gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, [j]satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” 18 And even by saying these things, only with difficulty did they restrain the crowds from offering sacrifices to them.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.