Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God, a Helper against the Treacherous.
For the music director; [a]upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.
12 Help, Lord, for (A)the godly person has come to an end,
For the faithful have disappeared from the sons of mankind.
2 They (B)speak [b]lies to one another;
They speak with [c](C)flattering lips and a double heart.
3 May the Lord cut off all [d]flattering lips,
The tongue that (D)speaks great things;
4 Who (E)have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are [e]our own; who is lord over us?”
5 “Because of the (F)devastation of the poor, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now (G)I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will (H)put him in the safety for which he longs.”
Contrast of the Upright and the Wicked
17 (A)Better is a dry morsel and quietness with it
Than a house full of [a]feasting with strife.
2 A servant who acts wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully,
And will share in the inheritance among brothers.
3 The (B)refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,
But (C)the Lord tests hearts.
4 An (D)evildoer listens to wicked lips;
A [b]liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.
5 One who mocks the (E)poor taunts his Maker;
One who (F)rejoices at disaster will not go unpunished.
19 For though I am (A)free from all people, I have made myself (B)a slave to all, so that I may (C)gain more. 20 (D)To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might gain Jews; to those who are under the Law, I became as one under the Law, though (E)not being under the Law myself, so that I might gain those who are under the Law; 21 to those who are (F)without the Law, I became (G)as one without the Law, though not being without the law of God but (H)under the law of Christ, so that I might gain those who are without the Law. 22 To the (I)weak I became weak, that I might gain the weak; I have become (J)all things to all people, (K)so that I may by all means save some. 23 I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.
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