Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Psalm of David, Maschil.

¹ ¶ Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

² Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD does not impute iniquity and in whose spirit there is no guile.

³ When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.

⁴ For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my green growth is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.

⁵ I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and I have not hid my iniquity. I said, I will confess (against myself) my rebellions unto the LORD, and thou shalt forgive the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

⁶ For this shall every one that is merciful pray unto thee in the time when thou may be found; surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come near unto him.

⁷ ¶ Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.

⁸ I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go; I will fix mine eyes upon thee.

⁹ Be ye not as the horse or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in subjection with bit and bridle, or they will not come near unto thee.

¹⁰ There are many sorrows for the wicked; but he that waits in the LORD, mercy shall compass him round about.

¹¹ Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, ye righteous, and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

²⁸ And Ahimaaz called and said unto the king peace. And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king, and said, Blessed be the LORD thy God, who has delivered up those men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king.

²⁹ And the king said, Is the young man Absalom at peace? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king’s slave, and me thy slave, I saw a great tumult, but I did not know what it was.

³⁰ And the king said unto him, Turn aside and stand here. And he turned aside and stood still.

³¹ And, behold, Cushi came; and Cushi said, Tidings, my lord the king, for the LORD has vindicated thee today of all those that rose up against thee.

³² And the king said unto Cushi, Is the young man Absalom at peace? And Cushi answered, Let the enemies of my lord the king and all that rise against thee for evil, be as that young man.

³³ Then the king was much moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept; and as he went, he said this: O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! I would rather have died instead of thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!

19 ¶ And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weeps and mourns for Absalom.

² And that day the salvation was turned into mourning for all the people, for the people heard it said that day how the king was grieved for his son.

³ And the people entered by stealth that day into the city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle.

⁴ But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!

⁵ And Joab entering into the house of the king, said unto him, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy slaves, who this day have saved thy life and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters and the lives of thy wives and the lives of thy concubines,

⁶ by loving those who hate thee and hating thy friends. For thou hast declared this day that thou dost not regard thy princes nor thy slaves. For this day I perceive that if Absalom had lived and we had all died today, then this would be right in thine eyes.

⁷ Now, therefore, arise, go forth and speak unto the heart of thy slaves, for I swear by the LORD, if thou go not forth, not one of them will abide with thee tonight and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that has come upon thee from thy youth until now.

⁸ Then the king arose and sat in the gate. And it was declared unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king sits in the gate. And all the people came before the king, but Israel had fled every man to his tent.

¹⁷ ¶ And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, who were come out of every town of Galilee and Judaea and Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.

¹⁸ And, behold, men brought in a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they sought means to bring him in and to lay him before him.

¹⁹ And when they could not find any way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.

²⁰ And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

²¹ And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?

²² Then Jesus, knowing their thoughts and answering them said, What reason ye in your hearts?

²³ What is easier, to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee, or to say, Rise up and walk?

²⁴ But that ye may know that the Son of man has power upon earth to forgive sins (he said unto the paralytic), I say unto thee, Arise and take up thy couch and go to thine house.

²⁵ And immediately he rose up before them and took up that upon which he lay and departed to his own house, glorifying God.

²⁶ And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen marvels today.