Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God’s Perfect Knowledge of Man
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
139 O Lord, (A)You have searched me and known me.
2 (B)You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You (C)understand my thought afar off.
3 (D)You [a]comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, (E)You know it altogether.
5 You have [b]hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6 (F)Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.
7 (G)Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 (H)If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
(I)If I make my bed in [c]hell, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall [d]fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
12 Indeed, (J)the darkness [e]shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You [f]covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for [g]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 (K)My [h]frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
17 (L)How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.
The Prophet Is Called
4 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
5 “Before I (A)formed you in the womb (B)I knew you;
Before you were born I (C)sanctified[a] you;
I [b]ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then said I:
(D)“Ah, Lord God!
Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”
7 But the Lord said to me:
“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
For you shall go to all to whom I send you,
And (E)whatever I command you, you shall speak.
8 (F)Do not be afraid of their faces,
For (G)I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.
9 Then the Lord put forth His hand and (H)touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me:
Jesus Predicts His Departure
21 Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and (A)you will seek Me, and (B)will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.”
22 So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?”
23 And He said to them, (C)“You are from beneath; I am from above. (D)You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 (E)Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; (F)for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
25 Then they said to Him, “Who are You?”
And Jesus said to them, “Just what I (G)have been saying to you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but (H)He who sent Me is true; and (I)I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.”
27 They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.
28 Then Jesus said to them, “When you (J)lift[a] up the Son of Man, (K)then you will know that I am He, and (L)that I do nothing of Myself; but (M)as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. 29 And (N)He who sent Me is with Me. (O)The Father has not left Me alone, (P)for I always do those things that please Him.” 30 As He spoke these words, (Q)many believed in Him.
The Truth Shall Make You Free
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you (R)abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the (S)truth, and (T)the truth shall make you free.”
33 They answered Him, (U)“We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, (V)whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And (W)a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 (X)Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
Abraham’s Seed and Satan’s
37 “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but (Y)you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 (Z)I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have [b]seen with your father.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.