Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Thanksgiving for Escaping Death
A psalm of David. A song for giving the Temple to the Lord.
30 I will praise you, Lord,
because you rescued me.
You did not let my enemies laugh at me.
2 Lord, my God, I prayed to you,
and you healed me.
3 You lifted me out of the grave;
you spared me from going down to the place of the dead.
4 Sing praises to the Lord, you who belong to him;
praise his holy name.
5 His anger lasts only a moment,
but his kindness lasts for a lifetime.
Crying may last for a night,
but joy comes in the morning.
6 When I felt safe, I said,
“I will never fear.”
7 Lord, in your kindness you made my mountain safe.
But when you turned away, I was frightened.
8 I called to you, Lord,
and asked you to have mercy on me.
9 I said, “What good will it do if I die
or if I go down to the grave?
Dust cannot praise you;
it cannot speak about your truth.
10 Lord, hear me and have mercy on me.
Lord, help me.”
11 You changed my sorrow into dancing.
You took away my clothes of sadness,
and clothed me in happiness.
12 I will sing to you and not be silent.
Lord, my God, I will praise you forever.
25 Absalom was greatly praised for his handsome appearance. No man in Israel was as handsome as he. No blemish was on him from his head to his foot. 26 At the end of every year, Absalom would cut his hair, because it became too heavy. When he weighed it, it would weigh about five pounds by the royal measure.
27 Absalom had three sons and one daughter. His daughter’s name was also Tamar, and she was a beautiful woman.
28 Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two full years without seeing King David. 29 Then Absalom sent for Joab so he could send him to the king, but Joab would not come. Absalom sent a message a second time, but Joab still refused to come. 30 Then Absalom said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley growing there. Go burn it.” So Absalom’s servants set fire to Joab’s field.
31 Then Joab went to Absalom’s house and said to him, “Why did your servants burn my field?”
32 Absalom said to Joab, “I sent a message to you, asking you to come here. I wanted to send you to the king to ask him why he brought me home from Geshur. It would have been better for me to stay there! Now let me see the king. If I have sinned, he can put me to death!”
33 So Joab went to the king and told him Absalom’s words. Then the king called for Absalom. Absalom came and bowed facedown on the ground before the king, and the king kissed him.
2 Some people brought to Jesus a man who was paralyzed and lying on a mat. When Jesus saw the faith of these people, he said to the paralyzed man, “Be encouraged, young man. Your sins are forgiven.”
3 Some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This man speaks as if he were God. That is blasphemy!”[a]
4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why are you thinking evil thoughts? 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to tell him, ‘Stand up and walk’? 6 But I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Stand up, take your mat, and go home.” 7 And the man stood up and went home. 8 When the people saw this, they were amazed and praised God for giving power like this to human beings.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.