Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
5 O Lord, your loyal love reaches to the sky,[a]
your faithfulness to the clouds.[b]
6 Your justice is like the highest mountains,[c]
your fairness like the deepest sea;
you, Lord, preserve[d] mankind and the animal kingdom.[e]
7 How precious[f] is your loyal love, O God!
The human race finds shelter under your wings.[g]
8 They are filled with food from your house,
and you allow them to drink from the river of your delicacies.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.[h]
10 Extend[i] your loyal love to your faithful followers,[j]
and vindicate[k] the morally upright.[l]
4 “If you, Israel, want to come back,” says the Lord,
“if you want to come back to me,[a]
you must get those disgusting idols[b] out of my sight
and must no longer go astray.[c]
2 You must be truthful, honest, and upright
when you take an oath saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’[d]
If you do,[e] the nations will pray to be as blessed by him as you are
and will make him the object of their boasting.”[f]
3 Yes,[g] this is what the Lord has said
to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:
“Break up your unplowed ground, do not cast seeds among thorns.[h]
4 Commit yourselves to the Lord;
dedicate your hearts to me[i]
people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Otherwise, my anger will blaze up like a flaming fire against you
that no one will be able to extinguish.
That will happen because of the evil you have done.”
Jesus and Beelzebul
14 Now[a] he was casting out a demon that was mute.[b] When[c] the demon had gone out, the man who had been mute began to speak,[d] and the crowds were amazed. 15 But some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul,[e] the ruler[f] of demons, he casts out demons!” 16 Others, to test[g] him,[h] began asking for[i] a sign[j] from heaven. 17 But Jesus,[k] realizing their thoughts, said to them,[l] “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed,[m] and a divided household falls.[n] 18 So[o] if[p] Satan too is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? I ask you this because[q] you claim that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. 19 Now if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons[r] cast them[s] out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20 But if I cast out demons by the finger[t] of God, then the kingdom of God[u] has already overtaken[v] you. 21 When a strong man,[w] fully armed, guards his own palace,[x] his possessions are safe.[y] 22 But[z] when a stronger man[aa] attacks[ab] and conquers him, he takes away the first man’s[ac] armor on which the man relied[ad] and divides up[ae] his plunder.[af] 23 Whoever is not with me is against me,[ag] and whoever does not gather with me scatters.[ah]
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.