Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.
A Psalm of David. A [a]Maskil.
32 (A)How blessed is he whose wrongdoing is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed is a person whose guilt the Lord (B)does not take into account,
And in whose spirit there is (C)no deceit!
3 When (D)I kept silent about my sin, (E)my [b]body wasted away
Through my [c](F)groaning all day long.
4 For day and night (G)Your hand was heavy upon me;
My [d](H)vitality failed as with the dry heat of summer. Selah
5 I (I)acknowledged my sin to You,
And I (J)did not hide my guilt;
I said, “(K)I will confess my wrongdoings to the Lord”;
And You (L)forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You [e](M)in a time when You may be found;
Certainly (N)in a flood of great waters, they will not reach him.
7 You are (O)my hiding place; You (P)keep me from trouble;
You surround me with [f](Q)songs of deliverance. Selah
8 I will (R)instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will advise you (S)with My eye upon you.
9 Do not be (T)like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.
10 The (U)sorrows of the wicked are many,
But (V)the one who trusts in the Lord, goodness will surround him.
11 Be (W)glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are (X)upright in heart.
30 Therefore behold, (A)I am against the prophets,” declares the Lord, “who steal My words from each other. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the Lord, “who [a]use their tongues and declare, ‘The Lord declares!’ 32 Behold, I am against those who have prophesied (B)false dreams,” declares the Lord, “and reported them and led My people astray by their lies and (C)reckless boasting; yet (D)I did not send them nor command them, nor do they (E)provide this people the slightest benefit,” declares the Lord.
33 “Now when this people or the prophet or a priest asks you, saying, ‘What is the [b](F)pronouncement of the Lord?’ then you shall say to them, ‘What [c]pronouncement?’ The Lord declares, ‘I will (G)abandon you.’ 34 Then as for the prophet or the priest or the people who say, ‘The (H)pronouncement of the Lord,’ I will bring punishment upon that person and his household. 35 This is what each one of you will say to his neighbor and to his brother: ‘(I)What has the Lord answered?’ or, ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 36 For you will no longer remember the pronouncement of the Lord, because every person’s own word will become the pronouncement, and you have (J)perverted the words of the (K)living God, the Lord of armies, our God. 37 This is what you will say to that prophet: ‘What has the Lord answered you?’ and, ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 38 And if you say, ‘The pronouncement of the Lord!’ for that reason the Lord says this: ‘Because you said this word, “The pronouncement of the Lord!” I have also sent word to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘The pronouncement of the Lord!’”’ 39 Therefore behold, (L)I will certainly forget you and thrust you away from My presence, along with the city which I gave you and your fathers. 40 I will put an everlasting (M)disgrace on you and an everlasting humiliation which will not be forgotten.”
Testing the Spirits
4 (A)Beloved, do not believe every (B)spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because (C)many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: (D)every spirit that (E)confesses that (F)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that (G)does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the (H)antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and (I)now it is already in the world. 4 You are from God, (J)little children, and (K)have overcome them; because (L)greater is He who is in you than (M)he who is in the world. 5 (N)They are from the world, therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 (O)We are from God. (P)The one who knows God listens to us; (Q)the one who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know (R)the spirit of truth and (S)the spirit of error.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.