Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer Against Enemies
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
64 God, listen to my complaint.
·I am afraid of my enemies;
protect my life from them [L Protect my life from the dread of my enemies].
2 Hide me from ·those who plan wicked things [L the secret plans/conspiracy of the wicked],
from that ·gang [mob; restless group] who does evil [Prov. 1:8–19].
3 They sharpen their tongues like swords
and ·shoot [aim] bitter words like arrows.
4 From their hiding places they shoot at ·innocent [blameless] people;
they shoot suddenly and are not afraid.
5 They encourage each other to do wrong.
They talk about setting traps,
·thinking [or saying] ·no one will [L who can…?] see them.
6 They plan wicked things and say,
“We have a perfect plan.”
The ·mind [L insides and the heart/mind] of human beings is ·hard to understand [L deep].
7 But God will shoot them with arrows;
they will suddenly be struck down.
8 Their own ·words [tongues] will ·be used against them [L make them stumble].
All who see them will shake their heads [C in amazement at their downfall].
9 Then everyone will fear God [Prov. 1:7].
They will tell what God has done,
and they will ·learn from [reflect on] what he has done.
10 ·Good [Righteous] people will be happy in the Lord
and will find ·protection [refuge] in him.
Let everyone who is ·honest [virtuous in heart] praise the Lord.
A Funeral Song
32 It was in the twelfth year [C since King Jehoiachin’s exile (1:2)], in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month [C March 3, 585 bc]. The ·Lord spoke his word [L word of the Lord came] to me, saying: 2 “·Human [T Son of man; 2:1], sing a ·funeral song [lament; dirge] about Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Say to him:
‘You are like a young lion [19:1–9] among the nations.
You are like a ·crocodile [or monster; or dragon; 29:4] in the seas.
You ·splash [thrash] around in your streams
and stir up the water with your feet,
making the rivers muddy.
3 “‘This is what the Lord God says:
I will spread my net over you,
and I will use a ·large group of [assembly of many] people
to ·pull [haul] you up in my net.
4 Then I will ·throw [cast; or abandon] you on the land
·dropping [hurling] you onto the ·ground [open field].
I will let the birds of the ·sky [heavens] ·rest [settle] on you
and all the animals of the earth ·eat you until they are full [gorge themselves on you; Rev. 19:21].
5 I will scatter your flesh on the mountains
and fill the valleys with ·what is left of you [your remains; L your height].
6 I will drench the land with your flowing blood
as far as the mountains,
and the ravines will be full of your flesh.
7 When I ·make you disappear [snuff/blot you out],
I will cover the ·sky [heavens] and make the stars dark.
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon will not shine.
8 I will make all the shining lights in the ·sky [heavens]
become dark over you;
I will bring darkness over your land,
says the Lord God.
9 I will ·cause many people to be afraid [L trouble the hearts of many peoples]
when I bring ·you as a captive into other [or about your destruction among the] nations,
to lands you have not known.
10 I will cause many people to be shocked about you.
Their kings will tremble with ·fear [horror] because of you
when I ·swing [brandish] my sword in front of them.
They will ·shake [tremble] every moment
on the day ·you fall [of your downfall];
each ·king [one] will ·be afraid [tremble] for his own life.
Jesus Heals a Sick Boy(A)
37 The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Jesus. 38 A man in the crowd ·shouted [cried out] to him, “Teacher, ·please [L I beg you to] come and look at my son, because he is my only child. 39 [L And look/T behold] ·An evil spirit [L A spirit] seizes my son, and suddenly ·he [or it] screams. It causes him to ·lose control of himself [have convulsions] and foam at the mouth. The evil spirit ·keeps on hurting [batters; mauls] him and almost never leaves him. 40 I begged your ·followers [disciples] to ·force [drive; cast] the evil spirit out, but they could not do it.”
41 Jesus answered, “·You people have no faith, and your lives are all wrong [L O unbelieving and corrupt/perverse generation]. How long must I stay with you and ·put up with [endure; bear with] you? Bring your son here.”
42 While the boy was coming, the demon threw him on the ground ·and made him lose control of himself [in convulsions]. But Jesus ·gave a strong command to [rebuked] the ·evil [defiling; L unclean; 4:33] spirit and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 43 All the people were ·amazed [astonished; awestruck] at the ·great power [majesty; greatness] of God.
Jesus Talks About His Death(B)
While everyone was ·wondering [marveling] about all that Jesus did, he said to his ·followers [disciples],
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