Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 38[a]
A psalm of David, written to get God’s attention.[b]
38 O Lord, do not continue to rebuke me in your anger.
Do not continue to punish me in your raging fury.[c]
2 For your arrows pierce[d] me,
and your hand presses me down.[e]
3 My whole body is sick because of your judgment;[f]
I am deprived of health because of my sin.[g]
4 For my sins overwhelm me;[h]
like a heavy load, they are too much for me to bear.
5 My wounds[i] are infected and starting to smell,[j]
because of my foolish sins.[k]
6 I am dazed[l] and completely humiliated;[m]
all day long I walk around mourning.
7 For I am overcome with shame,[n]
and my whole body is sick.[o]
8 I am numb with pain and severely battered;[p]
I groan loudly because of the anxiety I feel.[q]
9 O Lord, you understand my heart’s desire;[r]
my groaning is not hidden from you.
10 My heart beats quickly;
my strength leaves me.
I can hardly see.[s]
11 Because of my condition,[t] even my friends and acquaintances keep their distance;[u]
my neighbors stand far away.[v]
12 Those who seek my life try to entrap me;[w]
those who want to harm me speak destructive words.
All day long they say deceitful things.
13 But I am like a deaf man—I hear nothing;
I am like a mute who cannot speak.[x]
14 I am like a man who cannot hear
and is incapable of arguing his defense.[y]
15 Yet[z] I wait for you, O Lord!
You will respond, O Lord, my God!
16 I have prayed for deliverance, because otherwise they will gloat over me;[aa]
when my foot slips they will arrogantly taunt me.[ab]
17 For I am about to stumble,
and I am in constant pain.[ac]
18 Yes,[ad] I confess my wrongdoing,
and I am concerned about my sins.
19 But those who are my enemies for no reason are numerous;[ae]
those who hate me without cause outnumber me.[af]
20 They repay me evil for the good I have done;
though I have tried to do good to them, they hurl accusations at me.[ag]
21 Do not abandon me, O Lord.
My God, do not remain far away from me.
22 Hurry and help me,[ah] O Lord, my deliverer.
Additional Sin-Offering Regulations
5 “‘When a person sins[a] in that he hears a public curse against one who fails to testify[b] and he is a witness (he either saw or knew what had happened[c]) and he does not make it known,[d] then he will bear his punishment for iniquity.[e] 2 Or when there is[f] a person who touches anything ceremonially unclean,[g] whether the carcass of an unclean wild animal, or the carcass of an unclean domesticated animal, or the carcass of an unclean creeping thing, even if he did not realize it,[h] he has become unclean and is guilty;[i] 3 or when he touches human uncleanness with regard to anything by which he can become unclean,[j] even if he did not realize it, but he has later come to know it and is guilty; 4 or when a person swears an oath, speaking thoughtlessly[k] with his lips, whether to do evil or to do good, with regard to anything which the individual might speak thoughtlessly in an oath, even if he did not realize it, but he has later come to know it and is guilty with regard to one of these oaths[l]— 5 when an individual becomes guilty with regard to one of these things[m] he must confess how he has sinned,[n] 6 and he must bring his penalty for guilt[o] to the Lord for his sin that he has committed—a female from the flock, whether a female sheep or a female goat, for a sin offering. So the priest will make atonement[p] on his behalf for[q] his sin.
7 “‘If he cannot afford an animal from the flock,[r] he must bring his penalty for guilt for his sin that he has committed,[s] two turtledoves or two young pigeons,[t] to the Lord, one for a sin offering and one for a burnt offering. 8 He must bring them to the priest and present first the one that is for a sin offering. The priest[u] must pinch[v] its head at the nape of its neck, but must not sever the head from the body.[w] 9 Then he must sprinkle[x] some of the blood of the sin offering on the wall of the altar, and the remainder of the blood[y] must be squeezed out at the base of the altar—it is a sin offering. 10 The second bird[z] he must make a burnt offering according to the standard regulation.[aa] So the priest will make atonement[ab] on behalf of this person for[ac] his sin which he has committed, and he will be forgiven.[ad]
11 “‘If he cannot afford[ae] two turtledoves or two young pigeons,[af] he must bring as his offering for his sin which he has committed[ag] a tenth of an ephah[ah] of choice wheat flour[ai] for a sin offering. He must not place olive oil on it, and he must not put frankincense on it, because it is a sin offering. 12 He must bring it to the priest, and the priest must scoop out from it a handful as its memorial portion[aj] and offer it up in smoke on the altar on top of the other gifts of the Lord—it is a sin offering. 13 So the priest will make atonement[ak] on his behalf for his sin which he has committed by doing one of these things,[al] and he will be forgiven.[am] The remainder of the offering[an] will belong to the priest like the grain offering.’”[ao]
Sin, Forgiveness, Faith, and Service
17 Jesus[a] said to his disciples, “Stumbling blocks are sure to come, but woe[b] to the one through whom they come! 2 It would be better for him to have a millstone[c] tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea[d] than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.[e] 3 Watch[f] yourselves! If[g] your brother[h] sins, rebuke him. If[i] he repents, forgive him. 4 Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive[j] him.”
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