Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 140
For the Music Director. A Psalm of David.
1 Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;
protect me from violent men,
2 who plan evil deeds in their heart
and continually gather together for conflicts.
3 They have tongues as sharp as a serpent;
adders’ poison is with their lips. Selah
4 Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
preserve me from the violent men
who have planned to overthrow me.
5 The proud have hid a snare for me,
and with cords they have spread a net;
they have set traps for me. Selah
6 I said to the Lord, “You are my God;
hear the voice of my supplications, O Lord.”
7 O God my Lord, the strength of my salvation,
You have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
do not allow his evil plot,
lest he be raised up. Selah
9 As for the head of those who encompass me,
let the mischief of their own lips overwhelm them;
10 let burning coals fall upon them;
let them be cast into the fire,
into deep pits that they do not rise up again.
11 Let not an evil speaker be established in the land;
let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him!
12 I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted
and will give justice to the poor.
13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto Your name;
the upright shall dwell in Your presence.
16 Thus says the Lord of Hosts:
Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you.
They lead you into vanity;
they speak a vision of their own heart
and not out of the mouth of the Lord.
17 They still say to those who despise Me,
“The Lord has said, ‘You will have peace’ ”;
and they say to everyone who walks after the imagination of his own heart,
“No evil will come upon you.”
18 For who has stood in the counsel of the Lord
and has perceived and heard His word?
Who has given heed to His word and listened to it?
19 Look, a whirlwind of the Lord
has gone forth in fury,
a tempestuous whirlwind.
It will fall tempestuously upon the head of the wicked.
20 The anger of the Lord will not turn back
until He has executed and performed
the thoughts of His heart.
In the latter days
you will understand it perfectly.
21 I have not sent these prophets,
yet they ran.
I have not spoken to them,
yet they prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in My counsel
and had caused My people to hear My words,
then they would have turned them from their evil way
and from the evil of their deeds.
Coming Persecutions(A)
16 “Look, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues. 18 You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought of how or what you will speak. For it will be given you at that time what you will speak. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks through you.
21 “The brother will deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child. And the children will rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 You will be hated by all men for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. 23 But when they persecute you in this city, escape into another. For truly I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
24 “The disciple is not above his teacher, nor the servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household?
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.