Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 23
The King of Love My Shepherd Is
Heading
A psalm by David.
The Shepherd Provides for His People
1 The Lord is my shepherd.
I lack nothing.
2 He causes me to lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside quiet waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
The Shepherd Protects His People
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
The Royal Host Provides for His People
8 He removed the cover that was protecting Judah.
On that day you looked for the weapons in the House of the Forest.
9 You saw all the breaches through the walls of the City of David—
and there were many.
You collected water from the Lower Pool.
10 You counted the houses of Jerusalem.
You planned to tear them down to strengthen the wall.
11 You built a reservoir between the two walls
for the water from the Old Pool.
But you did not look to the one who had made it.
You did not consider the one who shaped this long ago.
12 On that day the Lord, the God of Armies,
called for weeping and loud mourning.
He called for shaved heads and for dressing in sackcloth.
13 But take a look and see:
joy and gladness,
butchering cattle, killing sheep,
eating meat, and drinking wine.
“Let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
14 The Lord of Armies has revealed this in my hearing: “I swear, your guilt will not be atoned for until your dying day, says the Lord, the God of Armies.”
4 Adulterers,[a] don’t you know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or, do you think that Scripture has no reason for saying that the Spirit, who lives in us,[b] yearns jealously?[c] 6 But he gives greater grace! That is why it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.”[d]
7 So, submit yourselves to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded people. 9 Lament, mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be changed into mourning and your joy into gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.