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.
Cain and Abel
4 Now the man [a]had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have obtained a male child with the help of the Lord.” 2 And again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now (A)Abel was (B)a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a cultivator of the ground. 3 So it came about [b]in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit of the ground. 4 (C)Abel, on his part also brought an offering, from the firstborn of his flock and from their fat portions. And (D)the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering; 5 but (E)for Cain and his offering He had no regard. So (F)Cain became very angry and his face [c]was gloomy. 6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “(G)Why are you angry? And why is your face [d]gloomy? 7 (H)If you do well, [e]will your face not be [f]cheerful? (I)And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; and its desire is for you, (J)but you must master it.” 8 Cain [g]talked to his brother Abel; and it happened that when they were in the field Cain rose up against his brother Abel and (K)killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “(L)Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 Then He said, “What have you done? (M)The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to Me from the ground. 11 Now (N)you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 (O)When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; (P)you will be a wanderer and a drifter on the earth.” 13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is too great to endure! 14 Behold, You have (Q)driven me this day from the face of the ground; and I will be hidden from Your face, and (R)I will be a wanderer and a drifter on the earth, and (S)whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 So the Lord said to him, “Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him (T)seven times as much.” And the Lord [h](U)placed a mark on Cain, so that no one finding him would kill him.
16 Then Cain left the presence (V)of the Lord, and [i]settled in the land of [j]Nod, east of Eden.
14 Therefore, since we have a great (A)high priest who has (B)passed through the heavens, Jesus (C)the Son of God, let’s hold firmly to our (D)confession. 15 For we do not have (E)a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been (F)tempted in all things just as we are, yet (G)without sin. 16 Therefore let’s (H)approach the throne of grace with (I)confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need.
The Perfect High Priest
5 For every high priest (J)taken from among men is appointed on behalf of people in (K)things pertaining to God, in order to (L)offer both gifts and sacrifices (M)for sins; 2 [a](N)he can deal gently with the (O)ignorant and (P)misguided, since he himself also is [b](Q)clothed in weakness; 3 and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices (R)for sins for himself, (S)as well as for the people. 4 And (T)no one takes the honor for himself, but receives it when he is called by God, just (U)as Aaron also was.
5 So too Christ (V)did not glorify Himself in becoming a (W)high priest, but it was He who (X)said to Him,
“(Y)You are My Son,
Today I have fathered You”;
6 just as He also says in another passage,
7 In the days of [c]His humanity, [d](AB)He offered up both prayers and pleas with (AC)loud crying and tears to the One (AD)able to save Him [e]from death, and He [f]was heard because of His (AE)devout behavior. 8 Although He was (AF)a Son, He learned (AG)obedience from the things which He suffered. 9 And having been (AH)perfected, He became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him, 10 being designated by God as (AI)High Priest according to (AJ)the order of Melchizedek.
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