Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Song of degrees.

¹ ¶ Out of the depths I cry unto thee, O LORD.

² Lord, hear my voice; let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.

³ If thou, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall endure?

⁴ Therefore there is forgiveness close to thee, that thou may be feared.

⁵ ¶ I have waited for the LORD, my soul has waited, and for his word I have waited.

⁶ My soul has waited for the Lord more than those that watch for the morning: I say, more than those that watch for the morning.

⁷ Let Israel wait for the LORD; for with the LORD there is mercy and plenteous redemption close to him.

⁸ And he shall ransom Israel from all his sins.

¹³ ¶ And many people assembled at Jerusalem to keep the feast of unleavened bread in the second month, a very great congregation.

¹⁴ And they arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and they also took away all the altars for incense and cast them into the brook Kidron.

¹⁵ Then they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the second month, and the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves with shame and brought in the burnt offerings into the house of the LORD.

¹⁶ And they put themselves in order according to the ordinance, according to the law of Moses, the man of God; the priests sprinkled the blood, which they received of the hands of the Levites.

¹⁷ For there were yet many in the congregation that were not sanctified; therefore, the Levites had the charge of the killing of the passovers for each one that was not clean, to sanctify them unto the LORD.

¹⁸ For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, and they ate the passover not as it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pardon each one

¹⁹ that has prepared his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, even though he is not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.

²⁰ And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah and healed the people.

²¹ ¶ Thus, the sons of Israel that were present at Jerusalem kept the solemnity of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness, and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD, day by day, with instruments of strength unto the LORD.

²² And Hezekiah spoke unto the heart of all the Levites that had good understanding to serve the LORD, and they ate the sacrifices of the feast for seven days, offering sacrifices of peace and giving thanks unto the LORD God of their fathers.

²³ And the whole assembly took counsel to keep another seven days, and they kept another seven days with gladness.

²⁴ For Hezekiah, king of Judah, had given to the congregation a thousand bullocks and seven thousand sheep, and the princes gave to the congregation a thousand bullocks and ten thousand sheep, and a great number of priests sanctified themselves.

²⁵ And all the congregation of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and all the congregation that came out of Israel, and the strangers that came out of the land of Israel, and that dwelt in Judah, rejoiced.

²⁶ So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem.

²⁷ Then the priests, the Levites, arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to the dwelling place of his sanctuary, unto heaven.

2 ¶ And again he entered into Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that he was in the house.

² And soon many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door; and he preached the word unto them.

³ And they came unto him, bringing a paralytic, carried by four men.

⁴ And when they could not come near unto him for the crowd, they uncovered the roof of the house where he was; and when they had broken it open, they let down the bed in which the paralytic lay.

⁵ When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the paralytic, Son, thy sins are forgiven thee.

⁶ But there were certain of the scribes sitting there and thinking in their hearts,

⁷ Why does this fellow so blaspheme? Who can forgive sins but God only?

⁸ And Jesus, knowing afterward in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, said unto them, Why think ye these things in your hearts?

⁹ What is easier to say to the paralytic, Thy sins are forgiven thee, or to say, Arise and take up thy bed and walk?

¹⁰ But that ye may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins (he spoke to the sick of the palsy),

¹¹ I say unto thee, Arise and take up thy bed and go to thy house.

¹² And by and by he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, We never saw anything like unto this.