Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
(A psalm by David.)
A Prayer for Protection from Enemies
1 Fight my enemies, Lord!
Attack my attackers!
2 Shield me and help me.
3 Aim your spear at everyone
who hunts me down,
but promise to save me.
4 Let all who want to kill me
be disgraced
and put to shame.
Chase away and confuse
all who plan to harm me.
5 Send your angel after them
and let them be like straw
in the wind.
6 Make them run in the dark
on a slippery road,
as your angel chases them.
7 I did them no harm,
but they hid a net
to trap me,
and they dug a deep pit
to catch and kill me.
8 (A) Surprise them with disaster!
Trap them in their own nets
and let them fall and rot
in the pits they have dug.
9 I will celebrate and be joyful
because you, Lord,
have saved me.
10 Every bone in my body
will shout:
“No one is like the Lord!”
You protect the helpless
from those in power;
you save the poor and needy
from those who hurt them.
Balaam and His Donkey Meet an Angel
22 Balaam was riding his donkey to Moab, and two of his servants were with him. But God was angry that Balaam had gone, so one of the Lord's angels stood in the road to stop him. 23 When Balaam's donkey saw the angel standing there with a sword, it walked off the road and into an open field. Balaam had to beat the donkey to get it back on the road.
24 Then the angel stood between two vineyards, in a narrow path with a stone wall on each side. 25 When the donkey saw the angel, it walked so close to one of the walls that Balaam's foot scraped against the wall. Balaam beat the donkey again.
26 The angel moved once more and stood in a spot so narrow that there was no room for the donkey to go around. 27 So it just lay down. Balaam lost his temper, then picked up a stick and whacked the donkey.
28 When that happened, the Lord told the donkey to speak, and it asked Balaam, “What have I done that made you beat me three times?”
32 I want all of you to be free from worry. An unmarried man worries about how to please the Lord. 33 But a married man has more worries. He must worry about the things of this world, because he wants to please his wife. 34 So he is pulled in two directions. Unmarried women and women who have never been married[a] worry only about pleasing the Lord, and they keep their bodies and minds pure. But a married woman worries about the things of this world, because she wants to please her husband. 35 What I am saying is for your own good—it isn't to limit your freedom. I want to help you to live right and to love the Lord above all else.
36 But suppose you are engaged to someone old enough to be married, and you want her so much that all you can think about is getting married. Then go ahead and marry.[b] There is nothing wrong with that. 37 But it is better to have self-control and to make up your mind not to marry. 38 It is perfectly all right to marry, but it is better not to get married at all.
39 A wife should stay married to her husband until he dies. Then she is free to marry again, but only to a man who is a follower of the Lord. 40 However, I think I am obeying God's Spirit when I say she would be happier to stay single.
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