Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Rebellious People
65 “I permitted Myself to be sought by (A)those who did not ask for Me;
I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’
To a nation which (B)did not call on My name.
2 (C)I have spread out My hands all day long to a (D)rebellious people,
Who walk in the way which is not good, [a]following their own (E)thoughts,
3 A people who continually (F)provoke Me to My face,
Offering sacrifices in (G)gardens and (H)burning incense on bricks;
4 Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places;
Who (I)eat pig’s flesh,
And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots.
5 Who say, ‘(J)Keep to yourself, do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
These are smoke in My [b]nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.
6 Behold, it is written before Me:
I will (K)not keep silent, but (L)I will repay;
I will even repay [c]into their laps,
7 Both your own (M)wrongdoings and the wrongdoings of your fathers together,” says the Lord.
“Because they have (N)burned incense on the mountains
And (O)scorned Me on the hills,
Therefore I will (P)measure their former work [d]into their laps.”
8 This is what the Lord says:
“Just as the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is [e]benefit in it,’
So I will act in behalf of My servants
In order (Q)not to destroy [f]all of them.
9 I will bring forth [g](R)offspring from Jacob,
And an (S)heir of My mountains from Judah;
(T)My chosen ones shall inherit it,
And (U)My servants will live there.
19 But You, Lord, (A)do not be far away;
You who are my help, (B)hurry to my assistance.
20 Save my [a]soul from (C)the sword,
My (D)only life from the [b]power of the dog.
21 Save me from the (E)lion’s mouth;
From the horns of the (F)wild oxen You (G)answer me.
22 I will (H)proclaim Your name to my brothers;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23 (I)You who fear the Lord, praise Him;
All you [c]descendants of Jacob, (J)glorify Him,
And (K)stand in awe of Him, all you [d]descendants of Israel.
24 For He has (L)not despised nor scorned the suffering of the afflicted;
Nor has He (M)hidden His face from him;
But (N)when he cried to Him for help, He heard.
25 From You comes (O)my praise in the great assembly;
I shall (P)pay my vows before those who fear Him.
26 The [e]afflicted will eat and (Q)be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will (R)praise the Lord.
May your (S)heart live forever!
27 All the (T)ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the (U)families of the nations will worship before [f]You.
28 For the (V)kingdom is the Lord’s
And He (W)rules over the nations.
23 But before faith came, [a]we were kept in custody under the Law, (A)being confined for the faith that was destined to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our [b](B)guardian to lead us to Christ, so that (C)we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a [c](D)guardian. 26 For you are all (E)sons and daughters of God through faith in (F)Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were (G)baptized into Christ have (H)clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 (I)There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is [d]neither male nor female; for (J)you are all one in (K)Christ Jesus. 29 And if (L)you [e]belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s [f]descendants, heirs according to (M)promise.
The Demon-possessed Man Cured
26 (A)Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 And when He stepped out onto the land, a man from the city met Him who was possessed with demons; and he had not put on clothing for a long time and was not living in a house, but among the tombs. 28 And seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him, and said with a loud voice, “[a](B)What business do You have with me, Jesus, Son of (C)the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” 29 For He had already commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into the desert. 30 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “(D)Legion”; because many demons had entered him. 31 And they were begging Him not to command them to go away into (E)the abyss.
32 Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding there on the mountain; and the demons begged Him to permit them to enter [b]the pigs. And He gave them permission. 33 And the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into (F)the lake and was drowned.
34 Now when the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported everything in the city, and in the country. 35 And the people came out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down (G)at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened. 36 Those who had seen everything reported to them how the man who had been (H)demon-possessed had been [c]made well. 37 And all the [d]people of the territory of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region asked Him to leave them, because they were overwhelmed by great fear; and He got into a boat and returned. 38 (I)But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might [e]accompany Him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city what great things Jesus had done for him.
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