Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Contrite Sinner’s Prayer for Pardon.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when [a]Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
51 (A)Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of (B)Your compassion (C)blot out my transgressions.
2 (D)Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And (E)cleanse me from my sin.
3 For [b]I (F)know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
4 (G)Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is (H)evil in Your sight,
So that (I)You [c]are justified [d]when You speak
And [e]blameless when You judge.
5 Behold, I was (J)brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
6 Behold, You desire (K)truth in the [f]innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will (L)make me know wisdom.
7 [g]Purify me (M)with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
[h]Wash me, and I shall be (N)whiter than snow.
8 [i]Make me to hear (O)joy and gladness,
Let the (P)bones which You have broken rejoice.
9 (Q)Hide Your face from my sins
And blot out all my iniquities.
10 (R)Create [j]in me a (S)clean heart, O God,
And renew [k]a (T)steadfast spirit within me.
11 (U)Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your (V)Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the (W)joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a (X)willing spirit.
13 Then I will (Y)teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will [l]be (Z)converted to You.
14 Deliver me from (AA)bloodguiltiness, O God, (AB)the God of my salvation;
Then my (AC)tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
15 O Lord, [m](AD)open my lips,
That my mouth may (AE)declare Your praise.
16 For You (AF)do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You are not pleased with burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a (AG)broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
10 “Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, (A)great and splendid cities which you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and (B)you eat and are satisfied, 12 then watch yourself, that (C)you do not forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of [a]slavery. 13 (D)You shall [b]fear only the Lord your God; and you shall [c]worship Him and (E)swear by His name. 14 (F)You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you, 15 for the Lord your God in the midst of you is a (G)jealous God; otherwise the anger of the Lord your God will be kindled against you, and He will [d]wipe you off the face of the earth.
16 “(H)You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, (I)as you tested Him at Massah. 17 (J)You should diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and His testimonies and His statutes which He has commanded you. 18 You shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that (K)it may be well with you and that you may go in and possess the good land which the Lord swore to give your fathers, 19 by driving out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has spoken.
20 “(L)When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What do the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments mean which the Lord our God commanded you?’ 21 then you shall say to your son, ‘We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us from Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 Moreover, the Lord showed great and distressing signs and wonders before our eyes against Egypt, Pharaoh and all his household; 23 He brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land which He had sworn to our fathers.’ 24 So the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, (M)to fear the Lord our God for our good always and (N)for our survival, as it is today. 25 (O)It will be righteousness for us if we [e]are careful to observe all this commandment before the Lord our God, just as He commanded us.
17 (A)Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. [a](B)Respect what is right in the sight of all men. 18 If possible, (C)so far as it depends on you, (D)be at peace with all men. 19 (E)Never take your own revenge, beloved, but [b]leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “(F)Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 “(G)But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for (A)he who loves [a]his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9 For this, “(B)You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “(C)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love [b]does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore (D)love is the fulfillment of the law.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.