Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 30[a]
A psalm, a song used at the dedication of the temple;[b] by David.
30 I will praise you, O Lord, for you lifted me up,[c]
and did not allow my enemies to gloat[d] over me.
2 O Lord my God,
I cried out to you and you healed me.[e]
3 O Lord, you pulled me[f] up from Sheol;
you rescued me from among those descending into the grave.[g]
4 Sing to the Lord, you faithful followers[h] of his;
give thanks to his holy name.[i]
5 For his anger lasts only a brief moment,
and his good favor restores one’s life.[j]
One may experience sorrow during the night,
but joy arrives in the morning.[k]
6 In my self-confidence I said,
“I will never be shaken.”[l]
7 O Lord, in your good favor you made me secure.[m]
Then you rejected me[n] and I was terrified.
8 To you, O Lord, I cried out;
I begged the Lord for mercy:[o]
9 “What[p] profit is there in taking my life,[q]
in my descending into the Pit?[r]
Can the dust of the grave[s] praise you?
Can it declare your loyalty?[t]
10 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me.
O Lord, deliver me.”[u]
11 Then you turned my lament into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and covered me with joy.[v]
12 So now[w] my heart[x] will sing to you and not be silent;
O Lord my God, I will always[y] give thanks to you.
Purification of Diseased Skin Infections
14 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “This is the law of the diseased person on the day of his purification, when[a] he is brought to the priest.[b] 3 The priest is to go outside the camp and examine the infection.[c] If the infection of the diseased person has been healed,[d] 4 then the priest will command that two live clean birds, a piece of cedar wood, a scrap of crimson fabric,[e] and some twigs of hyssop[f] be taken up[g] for the one being cleansed.[h] 5 The priest will then command that one bird be slaughtered[i] into a clay vessel over fresh water.[j] 6 Then[k] he is to take the live bird along with the piece of cedar wood, the scrap of crimson fabric, and the twigs of hyssop, and he is to dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird slaughtered over the fresh water, 7 and sprinkle it seven times on the one being cleansed[l] from the disease, pronounce him clean,[m] and send the live bird away over the open countryside.[n]
The Seven Days of Purification
8 “The one being cleansed[o] must then wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe in water, and so be clean.[p] Then afterward he may enter the camp, but he must live outside his tent seven days. 9 When the seventh day comes[q] he must shave all his hair—his head, his beard, his eyebrows, all his hair—and he must wash his clothes, bathe his body in water, and so be clean.[r]
The Eighth-Day Atonement Rituals
10 “On the eighth day he[s] must take two flawless male lambs, one flawless yearling female lamb, three-tenths of an ephah of choice wheat flour as a grain offering mixed with olive oil,[t] and one log of olive oil,[u] 11 and the priest who pronounces him clean will have the man who is being cleansed stand along with these offerings[v] before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.
12 “The priest is to take one male lamb[w] and present it for a guilt offering[x] along with the log of olive oil and present them as a wave offering before the Lord.[y] 13 He must then slaughter[z] the male lamb in the place where[aa] the sin offering[ab] and the burnt offering[ac] are slaughtered,[ad] in the sanctuary, because, like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest;[ae] it is most holy. 14 Then the priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the right earlobe of the one being cleansed,[af] on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe[ag] of his right foot. 15 The priest will then take some of the log of olive oil and pour it into his own left hand.[ah] 16 Then the priest is to dip his right forefinger into the olive oil[ai] that is in his left hand, and sprinkle some of the olive oil with his finger seven times before the Lord. 17 The priest will then put some of the rest of the olive oil that is in his hand[aj] on the right earlobe of the one being cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the blood of the guilt offering, 18 and the remainder of the olive oil[ak] that is in his hand the priest is to put on the head of the one being cleansed. So the priest is to make atonement for him before the Lord.
19 “The priest must then perform the sin offering[al] and make atonement for the one being cleansed from his impurity. After that he[am] is to slaughter the burnt offering, 20 and the priest is to offer[an] the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. So the priest is to make atonement for him and he will be clean.
The Seven Sons of Sceva
11 God was performing extraordinary[a] miracles by Paul’s hands, 12 so that when even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his body[b] were brought[c] to the sick, their diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.[d] 13 But some itinerant[e] Jewish exorcists tried to invoke the name[f] of the Lord Jesus over those who were possessed by[g] evil spirits, saying, “I sternly warn[h] you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 (Now seven sons of a man named[i] Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this.)[j] 15 But the evil spirit replied to them,[k] “I know about Jesus[l] and I am acquainted with[m] Paul, but who are you?”[n] 16 Then the man who was possessed by[o] the evil spirit jumped on[p] them and beat them all into submission.[q] He prevailed[r] against them so that they fled from that house naked and wounded. 17 This became known to all who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks; fear came over[s] them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was praised.[t] 18 Many of those who had believed came forward,[u] confessing and making their deeds known.[v] 19 Large numbers[w] of those who had practiced magic[x] collected their books[y] and burned them up in the presence of everyone.[z] When[aa] the value of the books was added up, it was found to total 50,000 silver coins.[ab] 20 In this way the word of the Lord[ac] continued to grow in power[ad] and to prevail.[ae]
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