Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 64
For the worship leader. A song of David.
1 O True God, hear my voice! Listen to my complaint!
Guard my life; keep me safe from my enemy’s threats.
2 Hide me from the sinful circle that conspires against me,
from the band of rebels out to make trouble,
3 Who sharpen their tongues into swords,
who take aim with poisonous words like arrows.
4 They hide in the shadows and shoot at the innocent;
they shoot at them without warning and without any fear.
5 They persist in their evil purpose
and plan in secret to lay their traps.
And they say, “Who will see them?”
6 They plot their offense with precision and say,
“Now we have the perfect crime.”
The human heart and mind are deep and complex.
7 But without hesitation the True God will shoot at them;
His arrow will surely wound them.
8 He will use their very own words to bring them to destruction;
all who see will be appalled at what happens to them.
9 Then everyone will fear the True God;
they will proclaim His deeds
and will reflect upon all He has done.
10 The righteous will delight in the Eternal
and will take shelter in Him.
All those with an honest heart will glorify Him!
32 During the twelfth year, on the first day of the twelfth month, the word of the Eternal came to me with a lament over Pharaoh and his people.
Eternal One: 2 Son of man, sing a lament over Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Tell him,
You imagine yourself a lion moving mightily through the nations,
but you’re really like the great sea monster
Rampaging through the waterways—muddying up the streams
and fouling the rivers with your feet.
3 So I, the Eternal One, say:
I will use a company of many people to cover you with My net
Using the nations to make the trap.
Once you are caught, they will haul you up in My net.
4 I will leave you on dry land
and cast you in an open field.
I will summon the birds of the sky to land on you and feast on your flesh.
I will bring the wild beasts of the earth to satisfy their hunger with you.
5 I will scatter bits and pieces of you on the hills
and fill the valleys with your remains.
6 I will see that the land drinks your flowing blood
as it streams to the mountains and fills the dry riverbeds.
7 When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens and dim the stars;
I will hide the sun behind a cloud, and the moon will not shine.
8 I will darken the lights that shine in the heavens
and shroud your land in darkness.
9 I will disturb the hearts of many people across the world with accounts of your destruction. The news will travel to places you have never heard of or knew existed. 10 I will shock many peoples with your story; kings will be terrified to remember your fate when I wave My sword at them. On the day of your destruction, they will tremble constantly, fearing your tragic destiny might also be theirs.
37 They came down the mountain, and the next day yet another huge crowd gathered around Jesus. There was a man in the crowd who shouted out.
Man in Crowd: 38 Teacher! Please come and look at my son here, my only child. 39 From time to time, a demonic spirit seizes him. It makes him scream and go into convulsions. He foams at the mouth. It nearly destroys him and only leaves after causing him great distress. 40 While You were up on the mountain, I begged Your disciples to liberate him from this spirit, but they were incapable of helping us.
Jesus: 41 O generation faithless, twisted, and crooked, how long can I be with you? How much can I bear? Bring your boy here.
42 The boy had taken a few steps toward Jesus when suddenly the demon seemed to rip into the boy, throwing him into convulsions. Jesus spoke sternly to the demonic spirit, and the boy was healed. Jesus presented the boy to his father.
43 The crowd began cheering and discussing this amazing healing and the power of God, but Jesus turned to His disciples.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.