Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Joy of Forgiveness
A Psalm of David. A [a]Contemplation.
32 Blessed is he whose (A)transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord (B)does not [b]impute iniquity,
And (C)in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old
Through my groaning all the day long.
4 For day and night Your (D)hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah
5 I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I have not hidden.
(E)I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
6 (F)For this cause everyone who is godly shall (G)pray to You
In a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters
They shall not come near him.
7 (H)You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with (I)songs of deliverance. Selah
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye.
9 Do not be like the (J)horse or like the mule,
Which have no understanding,
Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,
Else they will not come near you.
Judgment on the Nations
15 For thus says the Lord God of Israel to me: “Take this (A)wine cup of [a]fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it. 16 And (B)they will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”
17 Then I took the cup from the Lord’s hand, and made all the nations drink, to whom the Lord had sent me: 18 Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its princes, to make them (C)a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and (D)a curse, as it is this day; 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes, and all his people; 20 all the mixed multitude, all the kings of (E)the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the (F)Philistines (namely, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and (G)the remnant of Ashdod); 21 (H)Edom, Moab, and the people of Ammon; 22 all the kings of (I)Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastlands which are across the (J)sea; 23 (K)Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who are in the farthest corners; 24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the (L)mixed multitude who dwell in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of (M)Elam, and all the kings of the (N)Medes; 26 (O)all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth. Also the king of [b]Sheshach shall drink after them.
27 “Therefore you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: (P)“Drink, (Q)be drunk, and vomit! Fall and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.” ’ 28 And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “You shall certainly drink! 29 For behold, (R)I begin to bring calamity on the city (S)which is called by My name, and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished, for (T)I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth,” says the Lord of hosts.’
God’s True Tabernacle
44 “Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses (A)to make it according to the pattern that he had seen, 45 (B)which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, (C)whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the (D)days of David, 46 (E)who found favor before God and (F)asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. 47 (G)But Solomon built Him a house.
48 “However, (H)the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says:
49 ‘Heaven(I) is My throne,
And earth is My footstool.
What house will you build for Me? says the Lord,
Or what is the place of My rest?
50 Has My hand not (J)made all these things?’
Israel Resists the Holy Spirit
51 “You (K)stiff-necked[a] and (L)uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 52 (M)Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of (N)the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, 53 (O)who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.