Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Prayer for Protection against the Wicked.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
140 (A)Rescue me, Lord, from evil people;
Protect me from (B)violent men
2 Who (C)devise evil things in their hearts;
They (D)continually stir up wars.
3 They (E)sharpen their tongues like a snake;
(F)The venom of a viper is under their lips. Selah
4 (G)Keep me, Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
(H)Protect me from violent men
Who [a]intend to [b](I)trip up my feet.
5 The proud have (J)hidden a trap for me, and snares;
They have spread a (K)net at the [c]wayside;
They have set (L)snares for me. Selah
6 I (M)said to the Lord, “You are my God;
(N)Listen, Lord, to the (O)sound of my pleadings.
7 [d]God the Lord, (P)the strength of my salvation,
You have (Q)covered my head on the day of [e]battle.
8 Do not grant, Lord, the (R)desires of the wicked;
Do not bring about (S)his evil planning, so that they are not exalted. Selah
9 “As for the head of those who surround me,
May the (T)harm of their lips cover them.
10 May (U)burning coals fall upon them;
May they be (V)cast into the fire,
Into bottomless pits from which they (W)cannot rise.
11 May a [f]slanderer not endure on the earth;
(X)May evil hunt a violent person [g]violently.”
16 This is what the Lord of armies says:
“(A)Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you.
They are (B)leading you into futility;
They tell a (C)vision of their own [a]imagination,
Not (D)from the mouth of the Lord.
17 They keep saying to those who (E)despise Me,
‘The Lord has said, “(F)You will have peace”’;
And as for everyone who walks in the (G)stubbornness of his own heart,
They say, ‘(H)Disaster will not come on you.’
18 But (I)who has stood in the council of the Lord,
That he should see and hear His word?
Who has paid (J)attention to [b]His word and listened?
19 Behold, the (K)storm of the Lord has gone forth in wrath,
Even a whirling tempest;
It will swirl down on the head of the wicked.
20 The (L)anger of the Lord will not turn back
Until He has (M)performed and carried out the purposes of His heart;
(N)In the last days you will clearly understand it.
21 (O)I did not send these prophets,
But they ran.
I did not speak to them,
But they prophesied.
22 But if they had (P)stood in My council,
Then they would have (Q)announced My words to My people,
And would have turned them back from their evil way
And from the evil of their deeds.
A Hard Road Ahead of Them
16 “(A)Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be as (B)wary as serpents, and as (C)innocent as doves. 17 But be on guard against people, for they will hand you over to the (D)courts and flog you (E)in their synagogues; 18 and you will even be brought before governors and kings on My account, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 (F)But when they hand you over, (G)do not worry about how or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given you in that hour. 20 For (H)it is not you who are speaking, but it is the Spirit of your Father who is speaking [a]in you.
21 “Now (I)brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and (J)children will rise up against parents and [b]cause them to be put to death. 22 And (K)you will be hated by all because of My name, but (L)it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
23 “But whenever they (M)persecute you in [c]one city, flee to the [d]next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel (N)until the Son of Man comes.
The Meaning of Discipleship
24 “(O)A [e]disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he may become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. (P)If they have called the head of the house [f](Q)Beelzebul, how much more will they insult the members of his household!
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