Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
7 Do something, Yahweh, for the sake of your name,
even though our sins testify against us.
We have been unfaithful and have sinned against you.
8 You are Israel’s hope,
the one who saves it in times of trouble.
Why should you be like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler who stays only one night?
9 Why should you be like someone taken by surprise,
like a strong man who cannot help?
You, O Yahweh, are among us.
We are called by your name.
Don’t leave us!
10 This is what Yahweh says about these people: They love to wander. They don’t keep their feet where they belong. So Yahweh isn’t happy with them. He will remember their crimes and punish their sins.
19 Have you completely rejected Judah?
Do you despise Zion?
Why have you struck us so hard that we cannot heal?
We hope for peace, but no good comes from it.
We hope for a time of healing, but there’s only terror.
20 O Yahweh, we realize our wickedness
and the wrongs done by our ancestors.
We have sinned against you.
21 For the sake of your name, don’t despise us.
Don’t dishonor your glorious throne.
Remember your promise[a] to us; don’t break it.
22 The worthless gods of the nations can’t make it rain.
By themselves, the skies can’t give showers.
But you can, O Yahweh our Elohim.
We have hope in you because you do all these things.
Psalm 84
For the choir director; on the gittith; a psalm by Korah’s descendants.
1 Your dwelling place is lovely, O Yahweh Tsebaoth!
2 My soul longs and yearns
for Yahweh’s courtyards.
My whole body shouts for joy to El Chay.
3 Even sparrows find a home,
and swallows find a nest for themselves.
There they hatch their young
near your altars, O Yahweh Tsebaoth,
my Melek and my Elohim.
4 Blessed are those who live in your house.
They are always praising you. Selah
5 Blessed are those who find strength in you.
Their hearts are on the road that leads to you.[a]
6 As they pass through a valley where balsam trees grow,[b]
they make it a place of springs.
The early rains cover it with blessings.[c]
7 Their strength grows as they go along
until each one of them appears
in front of Elohim in Zion.
6 My life is coming to an end, and it is now time for me to be poured out as a sacrifice to God. 7 I have fought the good fight. I have completed the race. I have kept the faith. 8 The prize that shows I have God’s approval is now waiting for me. The Lord, who is a fair judge, will give me that prize on that day. He will give it not only to me but also to everyone who is eagerly waiting for him to come again.
16 At my first hearing no one stood up in my defense. Everyone abandoned me. I pray that it won’t be held against them. 17 However, the Lord stood by me and gave me strength so that I could finish spreading the Good News for all the nations to hear. I was snatched out of a lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from all harm and will take me safely to his heavenly kingdom. Glory belongs to him forever! Amen.
A Pharisee and a Tax Collector
9 Yeshua also used this illustration with some who were sure that God approved of them while they looked down on everyone else. 10 He said, “Two men went into the temple courtyard to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed, ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like other people! I’m not a robber or a dishonest person. I haven’t committed adultery. I’m not even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my entire income.’
13 “But the tax collector was standing at a distance. He wouldn’t even look up to heaven. Instead, he became very upset, and he said, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
14 “I can guarantee that this tax collector went home with God’s approval, but the Pharisee didn’t. Everyone who honors himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be honored.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.