Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 141[a]
Prayer for Deliverance from the Wicked
1 A psalm of David.
Lord, I call to you; hasten to me;
listen to my plea when I call.
2 Let my prayer be incense[b] before you;
my uplifted hands an evening offering.(A)
3 Set a guard, Lord, before my mouth,
keep watch over the door of my lips.(B)
4 Do not let my heart incline to evil,
to perform deeds in wickedness.
On the delicacies of evildoers
let me not feast.
5 [c]Let a righteous person strike me; it is mercy if he reproves me.
Do not withhold oil from my head(C)
while my prayer opposes their evil deeds.
6 May their leaders be cast over the cliff,
so that they hear that my speeches are pleasing.
7 Like the plowing and breaking up of the earth,
our bones are strewn at the mouth of Sheol.
8 For my eyes are upon you, O Lord, my Lord;(D)
in you I take refuge; do not take away my soul.
9 Guard me from the trap they have set for me,
from the snares of evildoers.(E)
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while only I pass over them safely.
Israel’s Return. 21 Then I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the judgment I executed, the hand I laid upon them. 22 From that day forward the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord, their God. 23 The nations shall know that the house of Israel went into exile because of its sins. Because they betrayed me, I hid my face from them, handing them over to their foes, so they all fell by the sword.(A) 24 According to their defilement and their crimes I dealt with them, hiding my face from them.(B)
25 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and take pity on the whole house of Israel; I am zealous for my holy name.(C) 26 They will forget their shame and all the infidelities they committed against me when they live securely on their own land with no one to frighten them. 27 When I bring them back from the nations and gather them from the lands of their enemies, I will show my holiness through them in the sight of many nations.(D) 28 Thus they shall know that I, the Lord, am their God, since I who exiled them among the nations will gather them back to their land, not leaving any of them behind. 29 I will no longer hide my face from them once I pour out my spirit upon the house of Israel—oracle of the Lord God.(E)
V. The New Israel[a]
The New Temple
Chapter 40
The Man with a Measure. 1 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, fourteen years after the city had been captured, on that very day the hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me back there.(F) 2 In a divine vision he brought me to the land of Israel, where he set me down on a very high mountain. In front of me, there was something like a city built on it.(G) 3 He brought me there, and there standing in the gateway was a man whose appearance was like bronze! He held in his hand a linen cord and a measuring rod.(H) 4 The man said to me, “Son of man, look carefully and listen intently. Pay strict attention to everything I show you, for you have been brought here so that I might show it to you. Then you must tell the house of Israel everything you see.”
23 “Everything is lawful,” but not everything is beneficial.[a] “Everything is lawful,” but not everything builds up.(A) 24 No one should seek his own advantage, but that of his neighbor.(B) 25 [b]Eat anything sold in the market, without raising questions on grounds of conscience, 26 for “the earth and its fullness are the Lord’s.”(C) 27 If an unbeliever invites you and you want to go, eat whatever is placed before you, without raising questions on grounds of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This was offered in sacrifice,” do not eat it on account of the one who called attention to it and on account of conscience; 29 I mean not your own conscience, but the other’s. For why should my freedom be determined by someone else’s conscience? 30 If I partake thankfully, why am I reviled for that over which I give thanks?(D)
31 So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. 32 [c]Avoid giving offense, whether to Jews or Greeks or the church of God, 33 just as I try to please everyone in every way, not seeking my own benefit but that of the many, that they may be saved.(E)
Chapter 11
1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.(F)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.