Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer of Someone Far from Home
A psalm for going up to worship.
120 When I was in trouble, I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
2 Lord, save me from liars
and from those who plan evil.
3 You who plan evil, what will God do to you?
How will he punish you?
4 He will punish you with the sharp arrows of a warrior
and with burning coals of wood.
5 How terrible it is for me to live in the land of Meshech,
to live among the people of Kedar.
6 I have lived too long
with people who hate peace.
7 When I talk peace,
they want war.
11 This is what the Lord says about Jehoahaz son of Josiah who became king of Judah after his father died and who has left this place: “He will never return. 12 He will die where he has been taken captive, and he will not see this land again.”
Judgment Against Jehoiakim
13 “How terrible it will be for one who builds his palace by doing evil,
who cheats people so he can build its upper rooms.
He makes his own people work for nothing
and does not pay them.
14 He says, ‘I will build a great palace for myself
with large upper rooms.’
So he builds it with large windows
and uses cedar wood for the walls,
which he paints red.
15 “Does having a lot of cedar in your house
make you a great king?
Your father was satisfied to have food and drink.
He did what was right and fair,
so everything went well for him.
16 He helped those who were poor and needy,
so everything went well for him.
That is what it means to know God,”
says the Lord.
17 “But you only look for and think about
what you can get dishonestly.
You are even willing to kill innocent people to get it.
You feel free to hurt people and to steal from them.”
Jesus Accuses the Pharisees
37 After Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee asked Jesus to eat with him. So Jesus went in and sat at the table. 38 But the Pharisee was surprised when he saw that Jesus did not wash his hands[a] before the meal. 39 The Lord said to him, “You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are full of greed and evil. 40 You foolish people! The same one who made what is outside also made what is inside. 41 So give what is in your dishes to the poor, and then you will be fully clean. 42 How terrible for you Pharisees! You give God one-tenth of even your mint, your rue, and every other plant in your garden. But you fail to be fair to others and to love God. These are the things you should do while continuing to do those other things. 43 How terrible for you Pharisees, because you love to have the most important seats in the synagogues, and you love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces. 44 How terrible for you, because you are like hidden graves, which people walk on without knowing.”
Jesus Talks to Experts on the Law
45 One of the experts on the law said to Jesus, “Teacher, when you say these things, you are insulting us, too.”
46 Jesus answered, “How terrible for you, you experts on the law! You make strict rules that are very hard for people to obey, but you yourselves don’t even try to follow those rules. 47 How terrible for you, because you build tombs for the prophets whom your ancestors killed! 48 And now you show that you approve of what your ancestors did. They killed the prophets, and you build tombs for them! 49 This is why in his wisdom God said, ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them. They will kill some, and they will treat others cruelly.’ 50 So you who live now will be punished for the deaths of all the prophets who were killed since the beginning of the world— 51 from the killing of Abel to the killing of Zechariah,[b] who died between the altar and the Temple. Yes, I tell you that you who are alive now will be punished for them all.
52 “How terrible for you, you experts on the law. You have taken away the key to learning about God. You yourselves would not learn, and you stopped others from learning, too.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.