Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Plea for Deliverance and Forgiveness
A Psalm of David.
25 To (A)You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
2 O my God, I (B)trust in You;
Let me not be ashamed;
(C)Let not my enemies triumph over me.
3 Indeed, let no one who [a]waits on You be ashamed;
Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.
4 (D)Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day.
6 Remember, O Lord, (E)Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they are from of old.
7 Do not remember (F)the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions;
(G)According to Your mercy remember me,
For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.
8 Good and upright is the Lord;
Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.
9 The humble He guides in justice,
And the humble He teaches His way.
Judgment Not Postponed
17 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 18 “Son of man, (A)eat your bread with [a]quaking, and drink your water with trembling and anxiety. 19 And say to the people of the land, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the land of Israel: “They shall eat their bread with anxiety, and drink their water with dread, so that her land may (B)be emptied of all who are in it, (C)because of the violence of all those who dwell in it. 20 Then the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall become desolate; and you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”
21 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 22 “Son of man, what is this proverb that you people have about the land of Israel, which says, (D)‘The days are prolonged, and every vision fails’? 23 Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I will lay this proverb to rest, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.” ’ But say to them, ‘ (E)“The days are at hand, and the [b]fulfillment of every vision. 24 For (F)no more shall there be any (G)false[c] vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. 25 For I am the Lord. I speak, and (H)the word which I speak will come to pass; it will no more be postponed; for in your days, O rebellious house, I will say the word and (I)perform it,” says the Lord God.’ ”
26 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 27 (J)“Son of man, look, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is (K)for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ 28 (L)Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “None of My words will be postponed any more, but the word which I speak (M)will be done,” says the Lord God.’ ”
Do Not Judge a Brother
11 (A)Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother (B)and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is one [a]Lawgiver, (C)who is able to save and to destroy. (D)Who[b] are you to judge [c]another?
Do Not Boast About Tomorrow
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow [d]we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? (E)It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, (F)“If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. (G)All such boasting is evil.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.