Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 32
A Psalm of David. A Contemplative Maskil.
1 Blessed is he
whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man
against whom the Lord does not count iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night
Your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was changed
into the drought of summer. Selah
5 I acknowledged my sin to You,
and my iniquity I did not conceal.
I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the Lord,”
and You forgave
the iniquity of my sin. Selah
6 For this cause everyone who is godly will pray to You
in a time when You may be found;
surely in the floods of great waters
they will not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place;
You will preserve me from trouble;
You will surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye on you.
9 Do not be as the horse or as the mule
that are without understanding,
that must be restrained with bit and bridle,
or they will not come near you.
10 Many sorrows come to the wicked,
but lovingkindness will surround
the man who trusts in the Lord.
11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, you righteous one;
and shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart!
30 See, therefore I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who steal My words, each from his neighbor. 31 See, I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who use their tongues and say, “The Lord says.” 32 See, I am against those who prophesy false dreams, says the Lord, and recount them and cause My people to err by their lies and reckless boasting. Yet I sent them not nor commanded them. Therefore they shall not profit this people at all, says the Lord.
False Prophecy
33 When this people or the prophet or a priest asks you, saying, “What is the oracle of the Lord?” you shall then say to them, “What oracle? I will forsake you, says the Lord.” 34 As for the prophet and the priest and the people who say, “The oracle of the Lord,” I will punish that man and his house. 35 Thus each of you will say to his neighbor and to his brother, “What has the Lord answered?” and, “What has the Lord spoken?” 36 And the oracle of the Lord you shall mention no more, for every man’s word will be his oracle. For you have perverted the words of the living God, of the Lord of Hosts our God. 37 Thus you will say to that prophet, “What has the Lord answered you?” and, “What has the Lord spoken?” 38 But if you say, “The oracle of the Lord”; therefore thus says the Lord: Because you say this word, “The oracle of the Lord,” I have also sent to you, saying, You shall not say, “The oracle of the Lord.” 39 Therefore, surely, I, even I, will utterly forget you and cast you and the city that I gave you and your fathers out of My presence. 40 And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you and perpetual shame which shall not be forgotten.
Test the Spirits
4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and is already in the world.
4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world, and therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are of God, and whoever knows God listens to us. Whoever is not of God does not listen to us. This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.