Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord’s Response
65 “I was sought by those who did not ask;[a]
I was found by those who did not seek Me.
I said: Here I am, here I am,
to a nation that was not called by[b] My name.(A)
2 I spread out My hands all day long
to a rebellious people(B)
who walk in the wrong path,
following their own thoughts.
3 These people continually provoke Me
to My face,
sacrificing in gardens,(C)
burning incense on bricks,
4 sitting among the graves,
spending nights in secret places,
eating the meat of pigs,(D)
and putting polluted broth in their bowls.[c]
5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself,
don’t come near me, for I am too holy for you!’
These practices are smoke in My nostrils,
a fire that burns all day long.
6 It is written before Me:
I will not keep silent,(E) but I will repay;(F)
I will repay them fully[d]
7 for your iniquities and the iniquities(G)
of your[e] fathers together,”
says the Lord.
“Because they burned incense on the mountains
and reproached Me on the hills,(H)
I will reward them fully[f]
for their former deeds.”
8 The Lord says this:
As the new wine is found in a bunch of grapes,
and one says, ‘Don’t destroy it,
for there’s some good[g] in it,’
so I will act because of My servants
and not destroy them all.
9 I will produce descendants from Jacob,(I)
and heirs to My mountains from Judah;
My chosen(J) ones will possess it,
and My servants will dwell there.(K)
19 But You, Lord, don’t be far away.(A)
My strength, come quickly to help me.(B)
20 Deliver my life from the sword,(C)
my only life[a] from the power of these dogs.
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion!(D)
You have rescued[b] me
from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will proclaim Your name to my brothers;
I will praise You in the congregation.(E)
23 You who fear Yahweh, praise Him!(F)
All you descendants of Jacob, honor Him!
All you descendants of Israel, revere Him!(G)
24 For He has not despised or detested
the torment of the afflicted.(H)
He did not hide His face from him(I)
but listened when he cried to Him for help.(J)
23 Before this faith(A) came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed.(B) 24 The law, then, was our guardian[a] until Christ,(C) so that we could be justified by faith. 25 But since that faith(D) has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
Sons and Heirs
27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ like a garment.(E) 28 There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free,(F) male or female;(G) for you are all one(H) in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs(I) according to the promise.(J)
Demons Driven Out by the Master
26 Then they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes,[a](A) which is opposite Galilee. 27 When He got out on land, a demon-possessed man from the town met Him. For a long time he had worn no clothes and did not stay in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out,(B) fell down before Him, and said in a loud voice, “What do You have to do with me,[b](C) Jesus, You Son of the Most High God?(D) I beg You, don’t torment me!” 29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was guarded, bound by chains and shackles, he would snap the restraints and be driven by the demon into deserted places.
30 “What is your name?” Jesus asked him.
“Legion,”(E) he said—because many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged Him not to banish them to the abyss.(F)
32 A large herd of pigs was there, feeding on the hillside. The demons begged Him to permit them to enter the pigs, and He gave them permission. 33 The demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. 34 When the men who tended them saw what had happened, they ran off and reported it in the town and in the countryside. 35 Then people went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man the demons had departed from, sitting at Jesus’ feet,(G) dressed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36 Meanwhile, the eyewitnesses reported to them how the demon-possessed man was delivered.(H) 37 Then all the people of the Gerasene region[c] asked Him to leave them,(I) because they were gripped by great fear. So getting into the boat, He returned.
38 The man from whom the demons had departed kept begging Him to be with Him. But He sent him away and said, 39 “Go back to your home, and tell all that God has done for you.” And off he went, proclaiming throughout the town all that Jesus had done for him.
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