Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Prayer of an Afflicted Man for Mercy on Himself and on Zion.
A Prayer of the afflicted when he is weak and [a]pours out his complaint before the Lord.
102 (A)Hear my prayer, Lord!
And let my cry for help (B)come to You.
2 (C)Do not hide Your face from me on the day of my distress;
(D)Incline Your ear to me;
On the day when I call (E)answer me quickly.
3 For my days (F)have ended in smoke,
And my (G)bones have been scorched like a hearth.
4 My heart (H)has been struck like [b]grass and has (I)withered,
Indeed, I (J)forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of the [c]loudness of my groaning
My (K)bones [d]cling to my flesh.
6 I resemble a (L)pelican of the wilderness;
I have become like an owl of the ruins.
7 I (M)lie awake,
I have become like a solitary bird on a housetop.
8 My enemies (N)have taunted me all day long;
Those who [e](O)deride me [f]have used my name as a (P)curse.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And (Q)mixed my drink with weeping
10 (R)Because of Your indignation and Your wrath;
For You have (S)lifted me up and thrown me away.
11 My days are like a [g](T)lengthened shadow,
And [h]I (U)wither away like [i]grass.
12 But You, Lord, [j](V)remain forever,
And Your [k](W)name remains to all generations.
13 You will (X)arise and have (Y)compassion on Zion;
For (Z)it is time to be gracious to her,
For the (AA)appointed time has come.
14 Surely Your servants [l]take pleasure in her stones,
And feel pity for her dust.
15 [m]So the [n](AB)nations will fear the name of the Lord,
And (AC)all the kings of the earth, Your glory.
16 For the Lord has (AD)built up Zion;
He has (AE)appeared in His glory.
17 He has (AF)turned His attention to the prayer of the [o]destitute
And has not despised their prayer.
13 (A)Blessed is a person who finds wisdom,
And one who obtains understanding.
14 For [a]her (B)profit is better than the profit of silver,
And her produce better than gold.
15 She is (C)more precious than [b]jewels,
And nothing you desire compares with her.
16 [c](D)Long life is in her right hand;
In her left hand are (E)riches and honor.
17 Her (F)ways are pleasant ways,
And all her paths are (G)peace.
18 She is a (H)tree of life to those who take hold of her,
And happy are those who hold on to her.
The Truth Will Set You Free
31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “(A)If you continue in My word, then you are truly My (B)disciples; 32 and (C)you will know the truth, and (D)the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered Him, “(E)We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly I say to you, (F)everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 Now (G)the slave does not remain in the house forever; (H)the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son (I)sets you free, you really will be free. 37 I know that you are (J)Abraham’s descendants; yet (K)you are seeking to kill Me, because My word [a]has no place in you. 38 I speak of the things which I have seen [b]with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from (L)your father.”
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