Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for Help in Despondency
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath Leannoth.” A [a]Contemplation of (A)Heman the Ezrahite.
88 O Lord, (B)God of my salvation,
I have cried out day and night before You.
2 Let my prayer come before You;
[b]Incline Your ear to my cry.
3 For my soul is full of troubles,
And my life (C)draws near to the grave.
4 I am counted with those who (D)go[c] down to the pit;
(E)I am like a man who has no strength,
5 [d]Adrift among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom You remember no more,
And who are cut off from Your hand.
6 You have laid me in the lowest pit,
In darkness, in the depths.
7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
And You have afflicted me with all (F)Your waves. Selah
8 (G)You have [e]put away my acquaintances far from me;
You have made me an abomination to them;
(H)I am shut up, and I cannot get out;
9 My eye wastes away because of affliction.
(I)Lord, I have called daily upon You;
I have stretched out my hands to You.
10 Will You work wonders for the dead?
Shall [f]the dead arise and praise You? Selah
11 Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave?
Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction?
12 Shall Your wonders be known in the dark?
And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But to You I have cried out, O Lord,
And in the morning my prayer comes before You.
14 Lord, why do You cast off my soul?
Why do You hide Your face from me?
15 I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth;
I suffer Your terrors;
I am distraught.
16 Your fierce wrath has gone over me;
Your terrors have [g]cut me off.
17 They came around me all day long like water;
They engulfed me altogether.
18 (J)Loved one and friend You have put far from me,
And my acquaintances into darkness.
Regulations for Conduct of Priests(A)
21 And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: (B)‘None shall defile himself for the dead among his people, 2 except for his relatives who are nearest to him: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother; 3 also his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband, for her he may defile himself. 4 Otherwise he shall not defile himself, being a [a]chief man among his people, to profane himself.
5 (C)‘They shall not make any bald place on their heads, nor shall they shave the edges of their beards nor make any cuttings in their flesh. 6 They shall be (D)holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and the (E)bread of their God; (F)therefore they shall be holy. 7 (G)They shall not take a wife who is a harlot or a defiled woman, nor shall they take a woman (H)divorced from her husband; for [b]the priest is holy to his God. 8 Therefore you shall [c]consecrate him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for (I)I the Lord, who (J)sanctify you, am holy. 9 The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the harlot, she profanes her father. She shall be (K)burned with fire.
10 ‘He who is the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was (L)poured and who is consecrated to wear the garments, shall not (M)uncover[d] his head nor tear his clothes; 11 nor shall he go (N)near any dead body, nor defile himself for his father or his mother; 12 (O)nor shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the (P)consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the Lord. 13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow or a divorced woman or a defiled woman or a harlot—these he shall not marry; but he shall take a virgin of his own people as wife. 15 Nor shall he profane his posterity among his people, for I the Lord sanctify him.’ ”
Collection for the Judean Saints
16 But thanks be to God who [a]puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus. 17 For he not only accepted the exhortation, but being more diligent, he went to you of his own accord. 18 And we have sent with him (A)the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches, 19 and not only that, but who was also (B)chosen by the churches to travel with us with this gift, which is administered by us (C)to the glory of the Lord Himself and to show your ready mind, 20 avoiding this: that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift which is administered by us— 21 (D)providing honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.
22 And we have sent with them our brother whom we have often proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, because of the great confidence which we have in you. 23 If anyone inquires about (E)Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker concerning you. Or if our brethren are inquired about, they are (F)messengers[b] of the churches, the glory of Christ. 24 Therefore show to them, [c]and before the churches, the proof of your love and of our (G)boasting on your behalf.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.