Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord the Shepherd
A song of David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd.
I have everything I need.
2 He gives me rest in green pastures.
He leads me to calm water.
3 He gives me new strength.
For the good of his name,
he leads me on paths that are right.
4 Even if I walk
through a very dark valley,
I will not be afraid
because you are with me.
Your rod and your shepherd’s staff comfort me.
5 You prepare a meal for me
in front of my enemies.
You pour oil of blessing on my head.[a]
You give me more than I can hold.
6 Surely your goodness and love will be with me
all my life.
And I will live in the house of the Lord forever.
Jeremiah’s First Complaint
12 Lord, if I complain to you,
you are always right.
But I want to ask you about the justice you give.
Why are evil people successful?
Why do dishonest people have such easy lives?
2 You have put the evil people here.
They are like plants with strong roots.
They grow and produce fruit.
With their mouths they speak well of you.
But their hearts are really far away from you.
3 But you know my heart, Lord.
You see me and test my mind.
Drag the evil people away like sheep to be butchered.
Set them aside for the day of killing.
4 How much longer will the land stay dried up?
How long will the grass in every field be dead?
The animals and birds in the land have died.
And it is because the people are evil.
Yet, they are saying,
“God does not see what happens to us!”
God’s Answer to Jeremiah
5 “If you get tired racing against men,
how can you race against horses?
You stumble in a country that is safe.
What will you do in the thick thornbushes along the Jordan River?
6 These men are your own brothers.
Members of your own family are making plans against you.
People from your own family are crying out against you.
Don’t trust them,
even when they speak to you like friends!
7 “I have left Israel.
I have left my people.
I have given the people I love
to their enemies.
8 My people have become
like a lion in the forest to me.
They roar at me.
So I hate them.
9 My people have become to me
like a speckled bird attacked by hawks.
Go, gather the wild animals!
Bring them to get something to eat.
10 Many shepherds will ruin my vineyards.
They will walk on the plants in my field.
They will turn my beautiful field
into an empty desert.
11 They will turn my field into a desert.
It will be wilted and dead.
The whole country is an empty desert.
This is because no one who lives there cares.
12 Many soldiers will march over those barren hills.
The Lord will use the armies to punish that land.
People from one end of the land to the other will be punished.
No one will be safe.
13 The people will plant wheat.
But they will harvest only thorns.
They will work hard until they are very tired.
But they will get nothing for all their work.
You will be ashamed of your poor harvest.
The Lord’s terrible anger has caused this.”
Jesus Heals a Blind Man
35 Jesus was coming near the city of Jericho. There was a blind man sitting beside the road, begging for money. 36 When he heard the people coming down the road, he asked, “What is happening?”
37 They told him, “Jesus, the one from Nazareth, is coming here.”
38 The blind man cried out, “Jesus, Son of David! Please help me!”
39 The people who were in front, leading the group, told the blind man to be quiet. But the blind man shouted more and more, “Son of David, please help me!”
40 Jesus stopped and said, “Bring the blind man to me!” When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?”
He said, “Lord, I want to see again.”
42 Jesus said to him, “Then see! You are healed because you believed.”
43 At once the man was able to see, and he followed Jesus, thanking God. All the people who saw this praised God.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.