Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 88[a]
A song, a psalm written by the Korahites, for the music director, according to the machalath-leannoth style;[b] a well-written song[c] by Heman the Ezrahite.
88 O Lord God who delivers me,[d]
by day I cry out
and at night I pray before you.[e]
2 Listen to my prayer.[f]
Pay attention[g] to my cry for help.
3 For my life[h] is filled with troubles,
and I am ready to enter Sheol.[i]
4 They treat me like[j] those who descend into the grave.[k]
I am like a helpless man,[l]
5 adrift[m] among the dead,
like corpses lying in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
and who are cut off from your power.[n]
6 You place me in the lowest regions of the Pit,[o]
in the dark places, in the watery depths.
7 Your anger bears down on me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves. (Selah)
8 You cause those who know me to keep their distance;
you make me an appalling sight to them.
I am trapped and cannot get free.[p]
9 My eyes grow weak because of oppression.
I call out to you, O Lord, all day long;
I spread out my hands in prayer to you.[q]
10 Do you accomplish amazing things for the dead?
Do the departed spirits[r] rise up and give you thanks? (Selah)
11 Is your loyal love proclaimed in the grave,
or your faithfulness in the place of the dead?[s]
12 Are your amazing deeds experienced[t] in the dark region,[u]
or your deliverance in the land of oblivion?[v]
13 As for me, I cry out to you, O Lord;
in the morning my prayer confronts you.
14 O Lord, why do you reject me,
and pay no attention to me?[w]
15 I am oppressed and have been on the verge of death since my youth.[x]
I have been subjected to your horrors and am numb with pain.[y]
16 Your anger overwhelms me;[z]
your terrors destroy me.
17 They surround me like water all day long;
they join forces and encircle me.[aa]
18 You cause my friends and neighbors to keep their distance;[ab]
those who know me leave me alone in the darkness.[ac]
Rules for the Priests
21 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the priests, the sons of Aaron—say to them: ‘For a dead person[a] no priest[b] is to defile himself among his people,[c] 2 except for his close relative who is near to him[d]—his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 3 and his virgin sister who is near to him,[e] who has no husband—he may defile himself for her. 4 He must not defile himself as a husband among his people so as to profane himself.[f] 5 Priests[g] must not have a bald spot shaved on their head, they must not shave the corner of their beard, and they must not cut slashes in their body.[h]
6 “‘They must be holy to their God, and they must not profane[i] the name of their God, because they are the ones who present the Lord’s gifts,[j] the food of their God. Therefore they must be holy.[k] 7 They must not take a wife defiled by prostitution,[l] nor are they to take a wife divorced from her husband,[m] for the priest[n] is holy to his God.[o] 8 You must sanctify him because he presents the food of your God. He must be holy to you because I, the Lord who sanctifies you all,[p] am holy. 9 If a daughter of a priest profanes herself by engaging in prostitution, she is profaning her father. She must be burned to death.[q]
Rules for the High Priest
10 “‘The high[r] priest—who is greater than his brothers, and on whose head the anointing oil is poured, and who has been ordained[s] to wear the priestly garments—must neither dishevel the hair of his head nor tear his garments.[t] 11 He must not go where there is any dead person;[u] he must not defile himself even for his father or for his mother. 12 He must not go out from the sanctuary and must not profane[v] the sanctuary of his God, because the dedication of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am the Lord. 13 He must take a wife who is a virgin.[w] 14 He must not marry[x] a widow, a divorced woman, or one profaned by prostitution; he may only take a virgin from his people[y] as a wife, 15 so that he does not profane his children among his people,[z] for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.’”
The Mission of Titus
16 But thanks be to God who put in the heart of Titus the same devotion[a] I have for you, 17 because he not only accepted our request, but since he was very eager,[b] he is coming[c] to you of his own accord.[d] 18 And we are sending[e] along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his work in spreading the gospel.[f] 19 In addition,[g] this brother[h] has also been chosen by the churches as our traveling companion as we administer this generous gift[i] to the glory of the Lord himself and to show our readiness to help.[j] 20 We did this[k] as a precaution so that no one should blame us in regard to this generous gift we are administering. 21 For we are concerned about what is right not only before the Lord but also before men.[l] 22 And we are sending[m] with them our brother whom we have tested many times and found eager in many matters, but who now is much more eager than ever because of the great confidence he has in you. 23 If there is any question[n] about Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; if there is any question about our brothers, they are messengers[o] of the churches, a glory to Christ. 24 Therefore show[p] them openly before the churches the proof of your love and of our pride in you.[q]
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