Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 7
The Slandered Saint
Heading
A shiggaion[a] by David, which he sang to the Lord
because of the words of Cush, from the tribe of Benjamin.
David’s Innocence
1 O Lord my God, in you I take refuge.
Save me from all my pursuers and deliver me.
2 Otherwise, like a lion they will tear me apart.
They will drag me away with no one to rescue me.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this,
if there is injustice in my hands,
4 if I have done evil to anyone who is at peace with me,
or if I have robbed my foe for no reason,
5 then let an enemy pursue my life and overtake me.
Let him trample my life to the ground
and make my glory dwell in the dust. Interlude
David’s Appeal for Justice
6 Stand up, O Lord, in your anger.
Rise up against the fury of my foes.
Awake for me. You have commanded justice.[b]
7 A crowd of peoples surrounds you.
Turn against them from on high.
8 Let the Lord judge the peoples.
Acquit me, O Lord, according to my righteousness,
according to my integrity which is in me.
9 The evil of the wicked will come to an end,
but you will establish the righteous.
You search minds and hearts,[c] O righteous God.
God’s Judgment Against the Wicked
10 My shield is God, who saves the upright in heart.
11 God, the judge, is righteous,
but he is a God who expresses his wrath every day.
12 If he[d] does not relent,
the Lord[e] will sharpen his sword.
He has bent his bow and will string it.
13 He prepares his deadly weapons.
He will make his arrows flames.
You Reap What You Sow
14 Yes, whoever conceives evil and is pregnant with trouble
will give birth to disappointment.[f]
15 He digs a pit and scoops it out,
and he will fall into the hole he has made.
16 The trouble he causes comes back on his own head.
His violence comes down on top of his own skull.
Closing Praise
17 I will thank the Lord because of his righteousness,
and I will make music to the name of the Lord Most High.
7 But I have appointed you, son of man, to be a watchman for the house of Israel. So whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you are to warn them from me. 8 When I say to a wicked man, “Wicked man, you shall surely die,” if you do not speak to warn the wicked man against his way, that wicked man will die because of his guilt, but I will also hold you responsible for his blood. 9 But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he will die because of his guilt, but you will have saved your life.
10 So you, son of man, say the following to the house of Israel.
This is what you people are saying: “Certainly our rebellion and our sins weigh us down, and because of them we are rotting away. How then can we live?” 11 Say to them, “As I live, declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from their way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why should you die, O house of Israel?”
12 So you, son of man, also say this to your countrymen.
The righteousness of a righteous man will not save him on the day that he rebels, and the wickedness of a wicked man will not cause him to stumble on the day that he turns away from his wickedness. Likewise, a righteous man will not be able to live by his righteousness on the day that he sins.
13 When I say about the righteous man, “He will surely live,” but he then trusts in his own righteousness and does unrighteous things, all of his righteous acts will no longer be remembered, and he will die because of[a] the unrighteous things he does.
14 Or when I say to the wicked man, “You will surely die,” and he turns from his sin and practices justice and righteousness— 15 if that wicked man returns the collateral paid to him for a loan, returns what he has stolen, walks in the laws that lead to life, and so avoids doing unrighteous things—he will surely live. He will not die. 16 All of the evil acts he committed will not be remembered against him. Since he has practiced justice and righteousness, he will certainly live.
17 Yet, your countrymen are saying, “The Lord’s way is not fair,” although it is actually their way that is not fair. 18 When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and does unrighteous things, he will die in them. 19 But when a wicked man turns away from his wickedness and practices justice and righteousness, he will live through them. 20 So, even though you say, “The Lord’s way is not fair,” I will judge each one of you according to his own ways, O house of Israel.
19 Jesus answered them directly, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: The Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing. Indeed, the Son does exactly what the Father does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. And he will show him even greater works than these so that you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to those he wishes.
22 “In fact, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 so that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Amen, Amen, I tell you: Anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He is not going to come into judgment but has crossed over from death to life.
25 “Amen, Amen, I tell you: A time is coming and is here now when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who listen will live. 26 For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he has granted the Son to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.
28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and will come out. Those who have done good will rise to live, but those who have practiced evil will rise to be condemned. 30 I can do nothing at all on my own. I judge only as I hear. And my judgment is just, for I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
31 “If I were to testify about myself, my testimony would not be valid. 32 There is another who testifies about me, and I know that his testimony about me is valid. 33 You sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. 34 The testimony I receive is not from man, but I am saying these things so that you may be saved. 35 John was a lamp that was shining brightly, and for a while you wanted to enjoy his light. 36 But I have testimony greater than John’s. For the works that the Father gave me to carry out, the very works that I am doing, these testify about me that the Father has sent me. 37 The Father who sent me—he is the one who has testified about me. You have never heard his voice or seen his form. 38 And you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe the one he sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them. They testify about me! 40 And yet you do not want to come to me in order to have life.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.