Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 23
The Good Shepherd
A psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd;(A)
I have what I need.(B)
2 He lets me lie down in green pastures;(C)
he leads me beside quiet waters.(D)
3 He renews my life;
he leads me along the right paths[a]
for his name’s sake.(E)
4 Even when I go through the darkest valley,[b]
I fear no danger,
for you are with me;(F)
your rod and your staff—they comfort me.(G)
Jeremiah’s Complaint
12 You will be righteous, Lord,(A)
even if I bring a case against you.
Yet, I wish to contend with you:(B)
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?(C)
Why do all the treacherous live at ease?
2 You planted them,(D) and they have taken root.
They have grown and produced fruit.
You are ever on their lips,[a]
but far from their conscience.[b](E)
3 As for you, Lord, you know me; you see me.(F)
You test whether my heart is with you.(G)
Drag the wicked away like sheep to slaughter(H)
and set them apart for the day of killing.
4 How long will the land mourn(I)
and the grass of every field wither?
Because of the evil of its residents,
animals and birds have been swept away,(J)
for the people have said,
“He cannot see what our end will be.”[c](K)
The Lord’s Response
5 If you have raced with runners
and they have worn you out,
how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble[d] in a peaceful land,
what will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?(L)
6 Even your brothers—your own father’s family—
even they were treacherous to you;(M)
even they have cried out loudly after you.(N)
Do not have confidence in them,
though they speak well of you.
7 I have abandoned my house;(O)
I have deserted my inheritance.
I have handed the love of my life
over to her enemies.
8 My inheritance has behaved toward me
like a lion in the forest.
She has roared against me.
Therefore, I hate her.(P)
9 Is my inheritance like a hyena[e] to me?
Are birds of prey circling her?
Go, gather all the wild animals;(Q)
bring them to devour her.
10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;
they have trampled my plot of land.(R)
They have turned my desirable plot
into a desolate wasteland.
11 They have made it a desolation.
It mourns, desolate, before me.
All the land is desolate,
but no one takes it to heart.(S)
12 Over all the barren heights in the wilderness
the destroyers have come,
for the Lord has a sword that devours
from one end of the earth to the other.
No one has peace.(T)
13 They have sown wheat but harvested thorns.(U)
They have exhausted themselves but have no profit.(V)
Be put to shame by your harvests
because of the Lord’s burning anger.(W)
A Blind Man Receives His Sight
35 As(A) he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. 36 Hearing a crowd passing by, he inquired what was happening. 37 “Jesus of Nazareth(B) is passing by,” they told him.
38 So he called out,(C) “Jesus, Son of David,(D) have mercy(E) on me!” 39 Then those in front told him to keep quiet,[a] but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
40 Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to him. When he came closer, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?”
“Lord,” he said, “I want to see.”
42 “Receive your sight,”(F) Jesus told him. “Your faith has saved you.”(G) 43 Instantly he could see, and he began to follow him, glorifying God.(H) All the people,(I) when they saw it, gave praise to God.
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