Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer Against Enemies
For the director of music. A song of David.
64 God, listen to my complaint.
I am afraid of my enemies.
Protect my life from them.
2 Hide me from those wicked people,
from that gang who does evil.
3 They sharpen their tongues like swords.
They shoot bitter words like arrows.
4 They hide and shoot at innocent people.
They shoot suddenly and are not afraid.
5 They encourage each other to do wrong.
They talk about setting traps.
They think no one will see them.
6 They plan wicked things and say,
“We have a perfect plan.”
The mind of man is hard to understand.
7 But God will shoot them with arrows.
They will suddenly be struck down.
8 Their own words will be used against them.
All who see them will shake their heads.
9 Then everyone will fear God.
They will tell what God has done.
They will learn from what he has done.
10 Good people will be happy in the Lord.
They will find protection in him.
Let everyone who is honest praise the Lord.
A Funeral Song
32 It happened in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month of our captivity. It was on the first day of the month. The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: 2 “Human being, sing a funeral song about the king of Egypt. Say to him:
‘You are like a young lion among the nations.
You are like a crocodile in the seas.
You splash around in your streams.
And you stir up the waters with your feet.
You make 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 people
to pull you up in my net.
4 Then I will throw you on the land.
I will toss you into the open field.
I will let the birds of the sky rest on you.
And I will let the animals of the earth eat you until they are full.
5 I will scatter your flesh on the mountains.
And I will fill the valleys with what is left of you.
6 I will drench the land with your flowing blood.
I will soak the mountains,
and the ravines will be full of your flesh.
7 I will make you disappear.
And I will cover the sky 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
become dark over you.
I will bring darkness over your land,
says the Lord God.
9 I will cause many people to be afraid
when I have another nation destroy you.
Nations you have not known will be afraid because of you.
10 I will cause people to be shocked about you.
Their kings will tremble with fear because of you
when I swing my sword before them.
They will shake every moment
on the day you fall.
Each king will be afraid for his own life.
Jesus Heals a Sick Boy
37 The next day, Jesus, Peter, James, and John came down from the mountain. A large crowd met Jesus. 38 A man in the crowd shouted to Jesus, “Teacher, please come and look at my son. He is the only child I have. 39 An evil spirit comes into my son, and then he shouts. He loses control of himself, and he foams at the mouth. The evil spirit keeps on hurting him and almost never leaves him. 40 I begged your followers to make the evil spirit leave my son, but they could not do it.”
41 Jesus answered, “You people who live now have no faith. Your lives are all wrong. How long must I be with you and be patient with you?” Then Jesus said to the man, “Bring your son here.”
42 While the boy was coming, the demon threw him on the ground. The boy lost control of himself. But Jesus gave a strong command to the evil spirit. Then the boy was healed, and Jesus gave him back to his father. 43 All the people were amazed at the great power of God.
Jesus Talks About His Death
The people were all wondering about the things Jesus did. But he said to his followers,
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.