Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
146 Praise the Lord.
I will praise the Lord.
2 I will praise the Lord all my life.
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
3 Don’t put your trust in human leaders.
Don’t trust in people who can’t save you.
4 When they die, they return to the ground.
On that day their plans come to nothing.
5 Blessed are those who depend on the God of Jacob for help.
Blessed are those who put their hope in the Lord their God.
6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth and the ocean.
He made everything in them.
He remains faithful forever.
7 He stands up for those who are treated badly.
He gives food to hungry people.
The Lord sets prisoners free.
8 The Lord gives sight to those who are blind.
The Lord lifts up those who feel helpless.
The Lord loves those who do what is right.
9 The Lord watches over the outsiders who live in our land.
He takes good care of children whose fathers have died.
He also takes good care of widows.
But he causes evil people to fail
in everything they do.
10 The Lord rules forever.
The God of Zion will rule for all time to come.
Praise the Lord.
11 Rich people may think they are wise.
But a poor person with understanding knows that rich people are fooling themselves.
12 When godly people win, everyone is very happy.
But when sinners take charge, everyone hides.
13 Anyone who hides their sins doesn’t succeed.
But anyone who admits their sins and gives them up finds mercy.
14 Blessed is the one who always trembles in front of God.
But anyone who makes their heart stubborn will get into trouble.
15 An evil person who rules over helpless people
is like a roaring lion or an angry bear.
16 A ruler who is mean to his people takes money from them by force.
But one who hates money gained in the wrong way will rule a long time.
17 Anyone troubled by the guilt of murder
will seek to escape their guilt by death.
No one should keep them from it.
18 Anyone who lives without blame is kept safe.
But anyone whose path is crooked will fall into the pit.
19 Those who work their land will have plenty of food.
But those who chase dreams will be very poor.
20 A faithful person will be richly blessed.
But anyone who wants to get rich will be punished.
21 Favoring one person over another is not good.
But a person will do wrong for a piece of bread.
22 Those who won’t share what they have want to get rich.
They don’t know they are going to be poor.
23 It is better to warn a person than to pretend to praise them.
In the end that person will be more pleased with you.
24 Anyone who steals from their parents and says, “It’s not wrong,”
is just like someone who destroys.
25 People who always want more stir up conflict.
But those who trust in the Lord will succeed.
26 Those who trust in themselves are foolish.
But those who live wisely are kept safe.
27 Those who give to poor people will have all they need.
But those who close their eyes to the poor will receive many curses.
28 When those who are evil take charge, other people hide.
But when those who are evil die, godly people grow stronger.
43 They were all amazed at God’s greatness.
Jesus Speaks a Second Time About His Coming Death
Everyone was wondering about all that Jesus did. Then Jesus said to his disciples, 44 “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you. The Son of Man is going to be handed over to men.” 45 But they didn’t understand what this meant. That was because it was hidden from them. And they were afraid to ask Jesus about it.
Who Is the Most Important Person?
46 The disciples began to argue about which one of them would be the most important person. 47 Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he took a little child and had the child stand beside him. 48 Then he spoke to them. “Anyone who welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me,” he said. “And anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. The one considered least important among all of you is really the most important.”
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