Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
25 (0) By David:
(1) I lift my inner being to you, Adonai;
2 I trust you, my God.
Don’t let me be disgraced,
don’t let my enemies gloat over me.
3 No one waiting for you will be disgraced;
disgrace awaits those who break faith for no reason.
4 Make me know your ways, Adonai,
teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth, and teach me;
for you are the God who saves me,
my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember your compassion and grace, Adonai;
for these are ages old.
7 Don’t remember my youthful sins or transgressions;
but remember me according to your grace
for the sake of your goodness, Adonai.
8 Adonai is good, and he is fair;
this is why he teaches sinners the way [to live],
9 leads the humble to do what is right
and teaches the humble [to live] his way.
19 “You ask, ‘Why doesn’t the son bear his father’s guilt?’ When the son has done what is lawful and right, has kept all my laws and obeyed them, he will certainly live. 20 The person who sins is the one that will die — a son is not to bear his father’s guilt with him, nor is the father to bear his son’s guilt with him; but the righteousness of the righteous will be his own, and the wickedness of the wicked will be his own.
21 “However, if the wicked person repents of all the sins he committed, keeps my laws and does what is lawful and right; then he will certainly live, he will not die. 22 None of the transgressions he has committed will be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done, he will live. 23 Do I take any pleasure at all in having the wicked person die?” asks Adonai Elohim. “Wouldn’t I prefer that he turn from his ways and live?
24 “On the other hand, when the righteous person turns away from his righteousness and commits wickedness by acting in accordance with all the disgusting practices that the wicked person does, will he live? None of the righteous deeds he has done will be remembered; for the trespasses and sins he has committed, he will die.
27 They went back into Yerushalayim; and as he was walking in the Temple courts, there came to him the head cohanim, the Torah-teachers and the elders; 28 and they said to him, “What s’mikhah do you have that authorizes you to do these things? Who gave you this s’mikhah authorizing you to do them?” 29 Yeshua said to them, “I will ask you just one question: answer me, and I will tell you by what s’mikhah I do these things. 30 The immersion of Yochanan — was it from Heaven or from a human source? Answer me.” 31 They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From Heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘From a human source, . . . ’” — they were afraid of the people, for they all regarded Yochanan as a genuine prophet. 33 So they answered Yeshua, “We don’t know.” “Then,” he replied, “I won’t tell you by what s’mikhah I do these things.”
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.