Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A psalm by David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd.
I am never in need.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside peaceful waters.
3 He renews my soul.
He guides me along the paths of righteousness
for the sake of his name.
4 Even though I walk through the dark valley of death,
because you are with me, I fear no harm.
Your rod and your staff give me courage.
5 You prepare a banquet for me while my enemies watch.
You anoint my head with oil.
My cup overflows.
6 Certainly, goodness and mercy will stay close to me all the days of my life,
and I will remain in the Lord’s house for days without end.
17 Pick up your bags. You are being blockaded.
18 This is what the Lord says:
I am going to throw out those who live in the land at this time
and cause trouble for them so that they will feel it.
19 Oh, I’m wounded!
My wound is serious.
Then I thought that this is my punishment, and I will bear it.
20 My tent is destroyed, and all my ropes are broken.
My children have left me and have disappeared.
There’s no one to set up my tent again
or put up my tent curtains.
21 The shepherds are foolish.
They don’t look to the Lord for help.
That is why they won’t succeed,
and all their flocks will be scattered.
22 The report has arrived.
A tremendous uproar is coming from the land of the north.
Its army will destroy Judah’s cities
and make them homes for jackals.
23 O Lord, I know that the way humans act is not under their control.
Humans do not direct their steps as they walk.
24 Correct me, O Lord, but please be fair.
Don’t correct me when you’re angry.
Otherwise, you’ll reduce me to nothing.
25 Pour out your fury on the nations who don’t know you
and on people who don’t worship you.
They have devoured the descendants of Jacob.
They have devoured them completely.
They have destroyed their homes.
16 While Paul was waiting for Silas and Timothy in Athens, he saw that the city had statues of false gods everywhere. This upset him. 17 He held discussions in the synagogue with Jews and converts to Judaism. He also held discussions every day in the public square with anyone who happened to be there. 18 Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers had discussions with him. Some asked, “What is this babbling fool trying to say?” Others said, “He seems to be speaking about foreign gods.” The philosophers said these things because Paul was telling the Good News about Jesus and saying that people would come back to life.
19 Then they brought Paul to the city court, the Areopagus, and asked, “Could you tell us these new ideas that you’re teaching? 20 Some of the things you say sound strange to us. So we would like to know what they mean.”
21 Everyone who lived in Athens looked for opportunities to tell or hear something new and unusual.
22 Paul stood in the middle of the court and said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious. 23 As I was going through your city and looking closely at the objects you worship, I noticed an altar with this written on it: ‘To an unknown god.’ I’m telling you about the unknown god you worship. 24 The God who made the universe and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth. He doesn’t live in shrines made by humans, 25 and he isn’t served by humans as if he needed anything. He gives everyone life, breath, and everything they have. 26 From one man he has made every nation of humanity to live all over the earth. He has given them the seasons of the year and the boundaries within which to live. 27 He has done this so that they would look for God, somehow reach for him, and find him. In fact, he is never far from any one of us. 28 Certainly, we live, move, and exist because of him. As some of your poets have said, ‘We are God’s children.’ 29 So if we are God’s children, we shouldn’t think that the divine being is like an image made from gold, silver, or stone, an image that is the product of human imagination and skill.
30 “God overlooked the times when people didn’t know any better. But now he commands everyone everywhere to turn to him and change the way they think and act. 31 He has set a day when he is going to judge the world with justice, and he will use a man he has appointed to do this. God has given proof to everyone that he will do this by bringing that man back to life.”
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