Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for Mercy in Troubled Times
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Upon the sheminith. A psalm of David.
6 Lord, don’t correct me when you are angry;
don’t punish me when you are very angry.
2 Lord, have mercy on me because I am weak.
Heal me, Lord, because my bones ache.
3 I am very upset.
Lord, how long will it be?
4 Lord, return and save me;
save me because of your kindness.
5 Dead people don’t remember you;
those in the grave don’t praise you.
6 I am tired of crying to you.
Every night my bed is wet with tears;
my bed is soaked from my crying.
7 My eyes are weak from so much crying;
they are weak from crying about my enemies.
8 Get away from me, all you who do evil,
because the Lord has heard my crying.
9 The Lord has heard my cry for help;
the Lord will answer my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be ashamed and troubled.
They will turn and suddenly leave in shame.
3 There were four men with a skin disease at the entrance to the city gate. They said to each other, “Why do we sit here until we die? 4 There is no food in the city. So if we go into the city, we will die there. If we stay here, we will die. So let’s go to the Aramean camp. If they let us live, we will live. If they kill us, we die.”
5 So they got up at twilight and went to the Aramean camp, but when they arrived, no one was there. 6 The Lord had caused the Aramean army to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a large army. They had said to each other, “The king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!” 7 So they got up and ran away in the twilight, leaving their tents, horses, and donkeys. They left the camp standing and ran for their lives.
8 When the men with the skin disease came to the edge of the camp, they went into one of the tents and ate and drank. They carried silver, gold, and clothes out of the camp and hid them. Then they came back and entered another tent. They carried things from this tent and hid them, also. 9 Then they said to each other, “We’re doing wrong. Today we have good news, but we are silent. If we wait until the sun comes up, we’ll be discovered. Let’s go right now and tell the people in the king’s palace.”
10 So they went and called to the gatekeepers of the city. They said, “We went to the Aramean camp, but no one is there; we didn’t hear anyone. The horses and donkeys were still tied up, and the tents were still standing.”
14 So, my dear friends, run away from the worship of idols. 15 I am speaking to you as to reasonable people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 We give thanks for the cup of blessing,[a] which is a sharing in the blood of Christ. And the bread that we break is a sharing in the body of Christ. 17 Because there is one loaf of bread, we who are many are one body, because we all share that one loaf.
18 Think about the Israelites: Do not those who eat the sacrifices share in the altar? 19 I do not mean that the food sacrificed to an idol is important. I do not mean that an idol is anything at all. 20 But I say that what is sacrificed to idols is offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to share anything with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons also. You cannot share in the Lord’s table and the table of demons. 22 Are we trying to make the Lord jealous? We are not stronger than he is, are we?
How to Use Christian Freedom
23 “We are allowed to do all things,” but not all things are good for us to do. “We are allowed to do all things,” but not all things help others grow stronger. 24 Do not look out only for yourselves. Look out for the good of others also.
25 Eat any meat that is sold in the meat market. Do not ask questions about it. 26 You may eat it, “because the earth belongs to the Lord, and everything in it.”[b]
27 Those who are not believers may invite you to eat with them. If you want to go, eat anything that is put before you. Do not ask questions about it. 28 But if anyone says to you, “That food was offered to idols,” do not eat it. Do not eat it because of that person who told you and because eating it might be thought to be wrong. 29 I don’t mean you think it is wrong, but the other person might. But why, you ask, should my freedom be judged by someone else’s conscience? 30 If I eat the meal with thankfulness, why am I criticized because of something for which I thank God?
31 The answer is, if you eat or drink, or if you do anything, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Never do anything that might hurt others—Jews, Greeks, or God’s church— 33 just as I, also, try to please everybody in every way. I am not trying to do what is good for me but what is good for most people so they can be saved.
11 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.