Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Prayer of a Good Person[a]
26 Declare me innocent, O Lord,
because I do what is right
and trust you completely.
2 Examine me and test me, Lord;
judge my desires and thoughts.
3 Your constant love is my guide;
your faithfulness always leads me.[b]
4 I do not keep company with worthless people;
I have nothing to do with hypocrites.
5 I hate the company of the evil
and avoid the wicked.
6 Lord, I wash my hands to show that I am innocent
and march in worship around your altar.
7 I sing a hymn of thanksgiving
and tell of all your wonderful deeds.
8 I love the house where you live, O Lord,
the place where your glory dwells.
9 Do not destroy me with the sinners;
spare me from the fate of murderers—
10 those who do evil all the time
and are always ready to take bribes.
11 As for me, I do what is right;
be merciful to me and save me!
12 I am safe from all dangers;
in the assembly of his people I praise the Lord.
The Victory of Israel
17 “But on Mount Zion some will escape,
and it will be a sacred place.
The people of Jacob will possess
the land that is theirs by right.
18 The people of Jacob and of Joseph will be like fire;
they will destroy the people of Esau
as fire burns stubble.
No descendant of Esau will survive.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
19 “People from southern Judah will occupy Edom;
those from the western foothills will capture Philistia.
Israelites will possess the territory of Ephraim and Samaria;
the people of Benjamin will take Gilead.
20 The army of exiles from northern Israel
will return and conquer Phoenicia as far north as Zarephath.
The exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sardis
will capture the towns of southern Judah.
21 The victorious men of Jerusalem
will attack Edom and rule over it.
And the Lord himself will be king.”
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “There was once a rich man who dressed in the most expensive clothes and lived in great luxury every day. 20 There was also a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who used to be brought to the rich man's door, 21 hoping to eat the bits of food that fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the feast in heaven. The rich man died and was buried, 23 (A)and in Hades,[a] where he was in great pain, he looked up and saw Abraham, far away, with Lazarus at his side. 24 So he called out, ‘Father Abraham! Take pity on me, and send Lazarus to dip his finger in some water and cool off my tongue, because I am in great pain in this fire!’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Remember, my son, that in your lifetime you were given all the good things, while Lazarus got all the bad things. But now he is enjoying himself here, while you are in pain. 26 Besides all that, there is a deep pit lying between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, nor can anyone cross over to us from where you are.’ 27 The rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, father Abraham, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28 where I have five brothers. Let him go and warn them so that they, at least, will not come to this place of pain.’ 29 Abraham said, ‘Your brothers have Moses and the prophets to warn them; your brothers should listen to what they say.’ 30 The rich man answered, ‘That is not enough, father Abraham! But if someone were to rise from death and go to them, then they would turn from their sins.’ 31 But Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone were to rise from death.’”
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.