Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 17
My Righteous Plea
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A prayer by David.
David’s Righteousness
1 Hear my righteous plea, O Lord.
Pay attention to my outcry.
Turn your ear to my prayer, which is not offered by deceitful lips.
2 May a just verdict for me come from you.
May your eyes observe the things that are right.
3 You have tested my heart.
You have visited me at night.
You have refined me;
you have found nothing wrong.
I resolved that my mouth will not overstep its bounds.
4 As for the deeds of people:
by the words from your lips
I have kept myself from the ways of the violent.
5 Keep my footsteps on your paths.
My steps have not slipped.
God’s Love
6 Indeed, I call to you because you will answer me, O God.
Turn your ear toward me. Hear what I say.
7 Perform wonders through your mercy.
By your right hand save those who seek refuge
from those who rise up against them.
8 Guard me like the pupil of your eye.[a]
In the shadow of your wings hide me
9 from the wicked who try to destroy me,
from those enemies of my life who surround me.
The Enemies’ Ruthlessness
10 Their hearts are calloused.[b]
Their mouths speak arrogantly.
11 Now they surround our steps.
They watch us to throw us to the ground.
12 He is like a lion that is eager to tear,
like a young lion crouching in its hiding place.
13 Rise, O Lord. Confront him. Bring him down.
Save my life from the wicked by your sword.
14 Save me from such men by your hand, O Lord,
from men of this world, whose reward is in this life.
Closing Confidence
14b But you fill the stomachs of those whom you treasure.[c]
Their children are satisfied,
and they leave their wealth to their children.
15 Indeed, in righteousness I will view your face.
When I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.
Curses and Blessings
5 This is what the Lord says.
Cursed is anyone who trusts in mankind,
who seeks his strength from human flesh,
and who turns his heart away from the Lord.
6 He will be like a juniper bush in the wasteland.
He will not see good things when they come.
He lives in a dry place in the wilderness,
in a salty land where no one lives.
7 But blessed is anyone who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
8 He will be like a tree planted by water.
It sends out its roots to the stream.
It does not fear the heat when it comes.
Its leaves will remain green.
It is not concerned about a time of drought.
It does not stop producing fruit.
The Deceitful Heart
9 The heart is more deceitful than anything.
It is beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
10 I, the Lord, am the one who searches the heart
and examines the mind,
to reward a man according to what he has done,
according to what his deeds deserve.
11 Those who accumulate a fortune unjustly
are like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay.
Midway through life their fortune will be lost,
and in the end they will be exposed as fools.
12 The place of our sanctuary is a glorious throne,
exalted from the beginning.
13 You are the hope of Israel, Lord.
All who forsake you will be put to shame.
Those who turn away from you[a] will be written in the earth,
because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water.
14 Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed.
Save me, and I will be saved,
for you are the one I praise.
15 They say to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come!”
16 I have not tried to run away from being your shepherd,[b]
nor have I wanted to bring the day of incurable pain.
You are aware of everything that comes out of my lips.
It is not hidden from you.
17 Do not be a terror to me.
You are my refuge in the day of disaster.
18 Let my persecutors be put to shame,
but do not let me be put to shame.
Let them be terrified,
but do not let me be terrified.
Bring on them the day of disaster
and destroy them with double destruction.
Jesus Has Power to Drive Out Demons
22 Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak was brought to him. Jesus healed him so that he was able to speak and to see. 23 All the people were amazed and said, “Can this be the Son of David?”[a] 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”
25 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, and every town or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27 Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and take his goods, unless he first ties up the strong man? Only then can he plunder his house.
30 “Whoever is not with me is against me. And whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven—either in this age or in the one to come.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.