Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Sad Complaint
A song of the sons of Korah. For the director of music. By the mahalath leannoth. A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
88 Lord, you are the God who saves me.
I cry out to you day and night.
2 Accept my prayer.
Listen to my cry.
3 My life is full of troubles.
I am nearly dead.
4 They think I am on the way to my grave.
I am like a man with no strength.
5 I have been left as dead,
like a body lying in a grave.
You don’t remember dead people.
They are cut off from your care.
6 You have brought me close to death.
I am almost in the dark place of the dead.
7 You have been very angry with me.
All your waves crush me. Selah
8 You have taken my friends away from me.
You have made them hate me.
I am trapped and cannot escape.
9 My eyes are weak from crying.
Lord, I have prayed to you every day.
I have lifted my hands in prayer to you.
10 Do you show your miracles for the dead?
Do their spirits rise up and praise you? Selah
11 Will your love be told in the grave?
Will your loyalty be told in the place of death?
12 Will your miracles be known in the dark grave?
Will your goodness be known in the land where the dead are forgotten?
13 But, Lord, I have called out to you for help.
Every morning I pray to you.
14 Lord, why do you reject me?
Why do you hide from me?
15 I have been weak and dying since I was young.
I suffer from your terrors, and I am helpless.
16 You have been angry with me.
Your terrors have destroyed me.
17 They surround me daily like a flood.
They are all around me.
18 You have taken away my loved ones and friends.
Darkness is my only friend.
How Priests Must Behave
21 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell these things to Aaron’s sons, the priests: ‘A priest must not make himself unclean by touching a dead person. 2 But if the dead person was one of his close relatives, he may touch him. The priest may make himself unclean if the dead person is his mother or father, son or daughter, brother or 3 unmarried sister. This sister is close to him because she has no husband. So the priest may make himself unclean for her if she dies. 4 But a priest must not make himself unclean if the dead person was only related to him by marriage.
5 “‘Priests must not shave their heads. They must not shave off the edges of their beards. They must not cut their bodies. 6 Priests must be holy to their God. They must show respect for God’s name. This is because they present the offerings made by fire to the Lord. This is the food of their God. So they must be holy.
7 “‘A priest serves God in a special way. So he must not marry an unclean prostitute or a divorced woman. 8 Treat the priest in a special way. Think of him as holy. This is because he offers up the food of your God. I am the Lord. I make you holy. And I am holy.
9 “‘If a priest’s daughter makes herself unclean by becoming a prostitute, she shames her father. She must be burned with fire.
10 “‘The high priest was chosen from among his brothers. The special olive oil used in appointing people and things to the service of the Lord was poured on his head. He was appointed to wear the priestly clothes. So he must not do things to show his sadness in public. He must not let his hair go uncombed. He must not tear his clothes. 11 He must not go into a house where there is a dead body. He must not make himself unclean, even if it is his own father or mother. 12 The high priest must not go out of the Holy Place. If he does and becomes unclean, he would make God’s Holy Place unclean. The special oil used in appointing priests was poured on the high priest’s head. This separated him from the rest of the people. I am the Lord.
13 “‘The high priest must marry a woman who is a virgin. 14 He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman or a prostitute. He must marry a virgin from his own people. 15 This is so the people will respect his children as his own. I am the Lord. I have set the high priest apart for his special job.’”
Titus and His Companions
16 I thank God because he gave Titus the same love for you that I have. 17 Titus accepted what we asked him to do. He wanted very much to go to you. This was his own idea. 18 We are sending with him the brother who is praised by all the churches. This brother is praised because of his service in preaching the Good News. 19 Also, this brother was chosen by the churches to go with us when we deliver this gift of money. We are doing this service to bring glory to the Lord and to show that we really want to help.
20 We are being careful so that no one will criticize us about the way we are handling this large gift. 21 We are trying to do what is right. We want to do what the Lord accepts as right and also what people think is right.
22 Also, we are sending with them our brother who is always ready to help. He has proved this to us in many ways. And he wants to help even more now because he has much faith in you.
23 Now about Titus—he is my partner who is working with me to help you. And about the other brothers—they are sent from the churches, and they bring glory to Christ. 24 So show these men that you really have love. Show them why we are proud of you. Then all the churches can see it.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.