Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Judgment and Salvation
65 (A)I was ready to be sought by (B)those who did not ask for me;
I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, “Here I am, here I am,”
to a nation that was not called by[a] my name.
2 (C)I spread out my hands all the day
to a rebellious people,
who walk in a way that is not good,
following their own devices;
3 a people who provoke me
to my face continually,
(D)sacrificing in gardens
and making offerings on bricks;
4 who sit in tombs,
and spend the night in secret places;
(E)who eat pig's flesh,
and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels;
5 who say, “Keep to yourself,
do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.”
(F)These are a smoke in my nostrils,
a fire that burns all the day.
6 Behold, (G)it is written before me:
(H)“I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
(I)I will indeed repay into their lap
7 both your iniquities (J)and your fathers' iniquities together,
says the Lord;
(K)because they made offerings on the mountains
(L)and insulted me on the hills,
I will measure into their lap
payment for their former deeds.”[b]
8 Thus says the Lord:
(M)“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
and they say, ‘Do not destroy it,
for there is a blessing in it,’
so I will do for my servants' sake,
(N)and not destroy them all.
9 (O)I will bring forth offspring from Jacob,
and from Judah possessors of my mountains;
my chosen shall possess it,
and my servants shall dwell there.
19 But you, O Lord, (A)do not be far off!
O you my help, (B)come quickly to my aid!
20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the power of (C)the dog!
21 Save me from (D)the mouth of the lion!
You have rescued[a] me from the horns of (E)the wild oxen!
22 (F)I will tell of your name to my (G)brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23 You who (H)fear the Lord, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, (I)glorify him,
and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or abhorred
the affliction of (J)the afflicted,
and he has not (K)hidden his face from him,
but has heard, when he (L)cried to him.
23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, (A)imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, (B)the law was our (C)guardian until Christ came, (D)in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus (E)you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as (F)were baptized (G)into Christ have (H)put on Christ. 28 (I)There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave[a] nor free, (J)there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And (K)if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, (L)heirs according to promise.
Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon
26 (A)Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes,[a] which is opposite Galilee. 27 When Jesus[b] had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house (B)but among the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he (C)cried out and fell down before him and said (D)with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, (E)Son of (F)the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 29 For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon (G)into the desert.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, (H)“Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into (I)the abyss. 32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into (J)the lake and drowned.
34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting (K)at the feet of Jesus, (L)clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 36 And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed[c] man had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes (M)asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and (N)declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.