Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Righteousness of God’s Judgment
65 “I was (A)sought by those who did not ask for Me;
I was found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’
To a nation that (B)was not called by My name.
2 (C)I have stretched out My hands all day long to a (D)rebellious people,
Who (E)walk in a way that is not good,
According to their own thoughts;
3 A people (F)who provoke Me to anger continually to My face;
(G)Who sacrifice in gardens,
And burn incense on altars of brick;
4 (H)Who sit among the graves,
And spend the night in the tombs;
(I)Who eat swine’s flesh,
And the broth of [a]abominable things is in their vessels;
5 (J)Who say, ‘Keep to yourself,
Do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
These [b]are smoke in My nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.
6 “Behold, (K)it is written before Me:
(L)I will not keep silence, (M)but will repay—
Even repay into their bosom—
7 Your iniquities and (N)the iniquities of your fathers together,”
Says the Lord,
(O)“Who have burned incense on the mountains
(P)And blasphemed Me on the hills;
Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”
8 Thus says the Lord:
“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it,
For (Q)a blessing is in it,’
So will I do for My servants’ sake,
That I may not destroy them (R)all.
9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
And from Judah an heir of My mountains;
My (S)elect shall inherit it,
And My servants shall dwell there.
19 But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me;
O My Strength, hasten to help Me!
20 Deliver Me from the sword,
(A)My[a] precious life from the power of the dog.
21 (B)Save Me from the lion’s mouth
And from the horns of the wild oxen!
(C)You have answered Me.
22 (D)I will declare Your name to (E)My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23 (F)You who fear the Lord, praise Him!
All you [b]descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from Him;
But (G)when He cried to Him, He heard.
23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, [a]kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore (A)the law was our [b]tutor to bring us to Christ, (B)that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
Sons and Heirs
26 For you (C)are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For (D)as many of you as were baptized into Christ (E)have put on Christ. 28 (F)There is neither Jew nor Greek, (G)there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all (H)one in Christ Jesus. 29 And (I)if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s (J)seed, and (K)heirs according to the promise.
A Demon-Possessed Man Healed(A)
26 (B)Then they sailed to the country of the [a]Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons [b]for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he (C)cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, (D)“What have I to do with (E)You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” 29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.
30 Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?”
And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out (F)into the abyss.
32 Now a herd of many (G)swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. 33 Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.
34 When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, (H)sitting at the (I)feet of Jesus, clothed and in his (J)right mind. And they were afraid. 36 They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was [c]healed. 37 (K)Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the [d]Gadarenes (L)asked Him to (M)depart from them, for they were seized with great (N)fear. And He got into the boat and returned.
38 Now (O)the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.