Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A song; a psalm by Korah’s descendants; for the choir director; according to mahalath leannoth; [a] a maskil by Heman the Ezrahite.
88 O Lord God, my savior,
I cry out to you during the day and at night.
2 Let my prayer come into your presence.
Turn your ear to hear my cries.
3 My soul is filled with troubles,
and my life comes closer to the grave.
4 I am numbered with those who go into the pit.
I am like a man without any strength—
5 abandoned with the dead,
like those who have been killed and lie in graves,
like those whom you no longer remember,
who are cut off from your power.
6 You have put me in the bottom of the pit—in deep, dark places.
7 Your rage lies heavily on me.
You make all your waves pound on me. Selah
8 You have taken my friends far away from me.
You made me disgusting to them.
I’m shut in, and I can’t get out.
9 My eyes grow weak because of my suffering.
All day long I call out to you, O Lord.
I stretch out my hands to you ⌞in prayer⌟.
10 Will you perform miracles for those who are dead?
Will the spirits of the dead rise and give thanks to you? Selah
11 Will anyone tell about your mercy in Sheol
or about your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12 Will anyone know about your miracles in that dark place
or about your righteousness in the place where forgotten people live?
13 I cry out to you for help, O Lord,
and in the morning my prayer will come into your presence.
14 Why do you reject my soul, O Lord?
Why do you hide your face from me?
15 Ever since I was young, I have been suffering and near death.
I have endured your terrors, and now I am in despair.
16 Your burning anger has swept over me.
Your terrors have destroyed me.
17 They swirl around me all day long like water.
They surround me on all sides.
18 You have taken my loved ones and friends far away from me.
Darkness is my only friend!
Holiness for All the Priests
21 The Lord spoke to Moses, “Tell the priests, Aaron’s sons: None of you should become unclean by touching one of your relatives who has died. 2 However, you are allowed to become unclean when one of your nearest relatives dies. These relatives include your mother, father, son, daughter, or brother, 3 and especially an unmarried virgin sister who is still close to you. 4 As the head of your people, you should never become unclean. That would make you unholy.
5 “You should never mourn by shaving bald spots on your heads, shaving the edges of your beards, or slashing your bodies.
6 “Be God’s holy men, and don’t dishonor the name of your God. Be holy because you bring sacrifices by fire to the Lord. It is the food of your God. 7 You should never marry prostitutes, those who have lost their virginity, or divorced women because a priest is God’s holy man. 8 Be holy because you offer the food of your God. Be holy because I, the Lord, am holy. I set you apart as holy. 9 When a priest’s daughter dishonors herself by becoming a prostitute, she dishonors her father. She must be burned.
Holiness for the Chief Priest
10 “The priest who is anointed with oil and wears the chief priest’s clothes is chief over his brothers. He must never mourn by leaving his hair uncombed or by tearing his clothes. 11 He must never go near any dead bodies or become unclean, even for his father or mother. 12 He must not leave the holy tent of his God. If he does, he will be dishonoring it, because he is dedicated with the anointing oil of his God. I am the Lord.
13 “The anointed priest must marry a virgin. 14 He must never marry a widow, a divorced woman, a woman who has lost her virginity, or a prostitute. He may only marry a virgin from his own people. 15 He must not dishonor his children among his people because I, the Lord, set him apart as holy.”
16 I thank God for making Titus as dedicated to you as I am. 17 He accepted my request and eagerly went to visit you by his own free will.
18 With him we have sent our Christian brother whom all the churches praise for the way he tells the Good News. 19 More than that, the churches elected him to travel with us and bring this gift of God’s kindness. We are administering it in a way that brings glory to the Lord and shows that we are doing it willingly. 20 We don’t want anyone to find fault with the way we are administering this generous gift. 21 We intend to do what is right, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of people.
22 We have also sent with them our Christian brother whom we have often tested in many ways and found to be a dedicated worker. We find that he is much more dedicated now than ever because he has so much confidence in you.
23 If any questions are raised, remember that Titus is my partner and coworker to help you. The other men are representatives of the churches and bring glory to Christ. 24 So give these men a demonstration of your love. Show their congregations that we were right to be proud of you.
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