Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
4 Hear this, you who trample on the needy(A)
and do away with the poor of the land,(B)
5 asking, “When will the New Moon be over
so we may sell grain,(C)
and the Sabbath,
so we may market wheat?(D)
We can reduce the measure
while increasing the price[a]
and cheat with dishonest scales.(E)
6 We can buy the poor with silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals(F)
and even sell the chaff!”
7 The Lord has sworn(G) by the Pride of Jacob:[b](H)
I will never forget all their deeds.(I)
Psalm 113
Praise to the Merciful God
1 Hallelujah!
Give praise, servants of the Lord;
praise the name of the Lord.(A)
2 Let the name of the Lord be blessed
both now and forever.(B)
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting,
let the name of the Lord be praised.(C)
4 The Lord is exalted above all the nations,(D)
his glory above the heavens.(E)
5 Who is like the Lord our God—
the one enthroned on high,(F)
6 who stoops down to look
on the heavens and the earth?(G)
7 He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the trash heap(H)
8 in order to seat them with nobles—
with the nobles of his people.(I)
9 He gives the childless woman a household,
making her the joyful mother of children.(J)
Hallelujah!
Instructions on Prayer
2 First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2 for kings and all those who are in authority,(A) so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness(B) and dignity.(C) 3 This is good, and it pleases God our Savior,(D) 4 who wants everyone(E) to be saved(F) and to come to the knowledge of the truth.(G)
5 For there is one God(H) and one mediator(I) between God and mankind, the man(J) Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all,(K) a testimony at the proper time.
7 For this I was appointed a herald, an apostle(L) (I am telling the truth;[a] I am not lying), and a teacher of the Gentiles(M) in faith and truth.
The Parable of the Dishonest Manager
16 Now he said to the disciples, “There was a rich(A) man who received an accusation that his manager(B) was squandering(C) his possessions. 2 So he called the manager in and asked, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management,(D) because you can no longer be my manager.’
3 “Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do since my master is taking the management away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig; I’m ashamed to beg. 4 I know what I’ll do so that when I’m removed from management, people will welcome me into their homes.’
5 “So he summoned each one of his master’s debtors. ‘How much do you owe my master?’ he asked the first one.
6 “‘A hundred measures of olive oil,’ he said.
“‘Take your invoice,’ he told him, ‘sit down quickly, and write fifty.’
7 “Next he asked another, ‘How much do you owe?’
“‘A hundred measures of wheat,’ he said.
“‘Take your invoice,’ he told him, ‘and write eighty.’
8 “The master praised the unrighteous manager(E) because he had acted shrewdly. For the children of this age(F) are more shrewd than the children of light(G) in dealing with their own people.[a] 9 And I tell you, make friends(H) for yourselves by means of worldly wealth[b](I) so that when it fails, they may welcome you into eternal dwellings. 10 Whoever is faithful(J) in very little(K) is also faithful in much, and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much. 11 So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will trust you with what is genuine? 12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what is your own? 13 No(L) servant can serve two masters, since either he will hate(M) one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
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