Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
21 But You, O God the Lord,
Deal with me for Your name’s sake;
Because Your mercy is good, deliver me.
22 For I am poor and needy,
And my heart is wounded within me.
23 I am gone (A)like a shadow when it lengthens;
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My (B)knees are weak through fasting,
And my flesh is feeble from lack of fatness.
25 I also have become (C)a reproach to them;
When they look at me, (D)they shake their heads.
26 Help me, O Lord my God!
Oh, save me according to Your mercy,
27 (E)That they may know that this is Your hand—
That You, Lord, have done it!
28 (F)Let them curse, but You bless;
When they arise, let them be ashamed,
But let (G)Your servant rejoice.
29 (H)Let my accusers be clothed with shame,
And let them cover themselves with their own disgrace as with a mantle.
18 “But I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols. 19 I am the Lord your God: (A)Walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them; 20 (B)hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’
21 “Notwithstanding, (C)the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, and were not careful to observe My judgments, (D)‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; but they profaned My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them and fulfill My anger against them in the wilderness. 22 Nevertheless I [a]withdrew My hand and acted for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the Gentiles, in whose sight I had brought them out. 23 Also I raised My hand in an oath to those in the wilderness, that (E)I would scatter them among the Gentiles and disperse them throughout the countries, 24 (F)because they had not executed My judgments, but had despised My statutes, profaned My Sabbaths, and (G)their eyes were fixed on their fathers’ idols.
25 “Therefore (H)I also gave them up to statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they could not live; 26 and I pronounced them unclean because of their ritual gifts, in that they caused all [b]their firstborn to pass (I)through the fire, that I might make them desolate and that they (J)might know that I am the Lord.” ’
27 “Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “In this too your fathers have (K)blasphemed Me, by being unfaithful to Me. 28 When I brought them into the land concerning which I had raised My hand in an oath to give them, and (L)they saw all the high hills and all the thick trees, there they offered their sacrifices and provoked Me with their offerings. There they also sent up their (M)sweet aroma and poured out their drink offerings. 29 Then I said to them, ‘What is this [c]high place to which you go?’ So its name is called [d]Bamah to this day.” ’ 30 Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Are you defiling yourselves in the manner of your (N)fathers, and committing harlotry according to their (O)abominations? 31 For when you offer (P)your gifts and make your sons pass through the fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols, even to this day. So shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live,” says the Lord God, “I will (Q)not be inquired of by you. 32 (R)What you have in your mind shall never be, when you say, ‘We will be like the Gentiles, like the families in other countries, serving wood and stone.’
The Faithful Church
7 “And to the [a]angel of the church in Philadelphia write,
‘These things says (A)He who is holy, (B)He who is true, (C)“He who has the key of David, (D)He who opens and no one shuts, and (E)shuts and no one opens”: 8 (F)“I know your works. See, I have set before you (G)an open door, [b]and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. 9 Indeed I will make (H)those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed (I)I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept [c]My command to persevere, (J)I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon (K)the whole world, to test those who dwell (L)on the earth. 11 [d]Behold, (M)I am coming quickly! (N)Hold fast what you have, that no one may take (O)your crown. 12 He who overcomes, I will make him (P)a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall (Q)go out no more. (R)I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the (S)New Jerusalem, which (T)comes down out of heaven from My God. (U)And I will write on him My new name.
13 (V)“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.