Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Prayer for Protection from the Wicked.
For the choir director; for [a]flute accompaniment. A Psalm of David.
5 (A)Give ear to my words, O Lord,
Consider my [b](B)groaning.
2 Heed (C)the sound of my cry for help, (D)my King and my God,
For to You I pray.
3 In the morning, O Lord, [c]You will hear my voice;
In the (E)morning I will order my [d]prayer to You and eagerly (F)watch.
4 For You are not a God (G)who takes pleasure in wickedness;
(H)No evil [e]dwells with You.
5 The (I)boastful shall not (J)stand before Your eyes;
You (K)hate all who do iniquity.
6 You (L)destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors (M)the man of bloodshed and deceit.
7 But as for me, (N)by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house,
[f]At Your holy temple I will (O)bow in (P)reverence for You.
8 O Lord, (Q)lead me (R)in Your righteousness (S)because of [g]my foes;
Make Your way [h]straight before me.
9 There is (T)nothing [i]reliable in [j]what they say;
Their (U)inward part is destruction itself.
Their (V)throat is an open grave;
They [k]flatter with their tongue.
10 Hold them guilty, O God;
(W)By their own devices let them fall!
In the multitude of their transgressions (X)thrust them out,
For they are (Y)rebellious against You.
God Will Bless Judah and Ephraim
10 Ask (A)rain from the Lord at the time of the spring rain—
The Lord who (B)makes the [a]storm clouds;
And He will give them (C)showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each man.
2 For the (D)teraphim speak [b]iniquity,
And the (E)diviners see [c]lying visions
And tell (F)false dreams;
They comfort in vain.
Therefore the people [d]wander like (G)sheep,
They are afflicted, because there is no shepherd.
3 “My (H)anger is kindled against the shepherds,
And I will punish the [e]male goats;
For the Lord of hosts has (I)visited His flock, the house of Judah,
And will make them like His majestic horse in battle.
4 “From [f]them will come the (J)cornerstone,
From [g]them the tent peg,
From [h]them the bow of (K)battle,
From [i]them every [j]ruler, all of them together.
5 “They will be as mighty men,
(L)Treading down the enemy in the mire of the streets in battle;
And they will fight, for the Lord will be with them;
And the (M)riders on horses will be put to shame.
6 “I will (N)strengthen the house of Judah,
And I will (O)save the house of Joseph,
And I will [k](P)bring them back,
Because I have had (Q)compassion on them;
And they will be as though I had (R)not rejected them,
For I am the Lord their God and I will (S)answer them.
7 “Ephraim will be like a mighty man,
And their heart will be glad as if from wine;
Indeed, their (T)children will see it and be glad,
[l]Their heart will rejoice in the Lord.
8 “I will (U)whistle for them to gather them together,
For I have redeemed them;
And they will be as (V)numerous as they [m](W)were before.
9 “When I [n]scatter them among the peoples,
They will (X)remember Me in far countries,
And they with their children will live and come back.
10 “I will (Y)bring them back from the land of Egypt
And gather them from Assyria;
And I will bring them into the land of (Z)Gilead and Lebanon
[o]Until (AA)no room can be found for them.
11 “And they will pass through the (AB)sea of distress
And He will strike the waves in the sea,
So that all the depths of the (AC)Nile will dry up;
And the pride of (AD)Assyria will be brought down
And the scepter of (AE)Egypt will depart.
12 “And I will (AF)strengthen them in the Lord,
And in His name (AG)they will walk,” declares the Lord.
6 but (A)whoever (B)causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it [a]would be better for him to have a [b]heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
Stumbling Blocks
7 “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For (C)it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!
8 “(D)If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than [c]to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. 9 (E)If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than [d]to have two eyes and be cast into the [e](F)fiery hell.
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