Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
19 But, Lord, don’t be far away.
You are my strength; hurry to help me.
20 Save me from the sword;
save my life from the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the lion’s mouth;
save me from the horns of the bulls.
22 Then I will tell my brothers and sisters about you;
I will praise you in the public meeting.
23 Praise the Lord, all you who respect him.
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him;
fear him, all you Israelites.
24 He does not ignore those in trouble.
He doesn’t hide from them
but listens when they call out to him.
25 Lord, I praise you in the great meeting of your people;
these worshipers will see me do what I promised.
26 Poor people will eat until they are full;
those who look to the Lord will praise him.
May your hearts live forever!
27 People everywhere will remember
and will turn to the Lord.
All the families of the nations
will worship him
28 because the Lord is King,
and he rules the nations.
Israel’s Leaders Are Evil
9 All you animals of the field,
all you animals of the forest, come to eat.
10 The leaders who are to guard the people are blind;
they don’t know what they are doing.
All of them are like quiet dogs
that don’t know how to bark.
They lie down and dream
and love to sleep.
11 They are like hungry dogs
that are never satisfied.
They are like shepherds
who don’t know what they are doing.
They all have gone their own way;
all they want to do is satisfy themselves.
12 They say, “Come, let’s drink some wine;
let’s drink all the beer we want.
And tomorrow we will do this again,
or, maybe we will have an even better time.”
The Jews and the Law
17 What about you? You call yourself a Jew. You trust in the law of Moses and brag that you are close to God. 18 You know what he wants you to do and what is important, because you have learned the law. 19 You think you are a guide for the blind and a light for those who are in darkness. 20 You think you can show foolish people what is right and teach those who know nothing. You have the law; so you think you know everything and have all truth. 21 You teach others, so why don’t you teach yourself? You tell others not to steal, but you steal. 22 You say that others must not take part in adultery, but you are guilty of that sin. You hate idols, but you steal from temples. 23 You brag about having God’s law, but you bring shame to God by breaking his law, 24 just as the Scriptures say: “Those who are not Jews speak against God’s name because of you.”[a]
25 If you follow the law, your circumcision has meaning. But if you break the law, it is as if you were never circumcised. 26 People who are not Jews are not circumcised, but if they do what the law says, it is as if they were circumcised. 27 You Jews have the written law and circumcision, but you break the law. So those who are not circumcised in their bodies, but still obey the law, will show that you are guilty. 28 They can do this because a person is not a true Jew if he is only a Jew in his physical body; true circumcision is not only on the outside of the body. 29 A person is a Jew only if he is a Jew inside; true circumcision is done in the heart by the Spirit, not by the written law. Such a person gets praise from God rather than from people.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.