Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
7 He says:[a]
“Listen, my people. I am speaking!
Listen, Israel. I am accusing you.[b]
I am God, your God!
8 I am not condemning[c] you because of your sacrifices,
or because of your burnt sacrifices that you continually offer me.[d]
9 I do not need to take[e] a bull from your household
or goats from your sheepfolds.
10 For every wild animal in the forest belongs to me,
as well as the cattle that graze on a thousand hills.[f]
11 I keep track of[g] every bird in the hills,
and the insects[h] of the field are mine.
12 Even if I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and all it contains belong to me.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls?
Do I drink the blood of goats?[i]
14 Present to God a thank offering.
Repay your vows to the Most High.[j]
15 Pray to me when you are in trouble.[k]
I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”[l]
נ (Nun)
40 Let us carefully examine our ways,[a]
and let us return to the Lord.
41 Let us lift up our hearts[b] and our hands
to God in heaven:
42 “We[c] have blatantly rebelled;[d]
you[e] have not forgiven.”
ס (Samek)
43 You shrouded yourself[f] with anger and then pursued us;
you killed without mercy.
44 You shrouded yourself with a cloud
so that no prayer could get through.
45 You make us like filthy scum[g]
in the estimation[h] of the nations.
פ (Pe)
46 All our enemies have gloated over us;[i]
47 panic and pitfall[j] have come upon us,
devastation and destruction.[k]
48 Streams[l] of tears flow from my eyes[m]
because my people[n] are destroyed.[o]
ע (Ayin)
49 Tears flow from my eyes[p] and will not stop;
there will be no break[q]
50 until the Lord looks down from heaven
and sees what has happened.[r]
51 What my eyes see[s] grieves me[t]—
all the suffering of the daughters in my city.[u]
צ (Tsade)
52 For no good reason[v] my enemies
hunted me down[w] like a bird.
53 They shut me[x] up in a pit
and threw stones at me.
54 The waters closed over my head;
I thought[y] I was about to die.[z]
ק (Qof)
55 I have called on your name, O Lord,
from the deepest pit.[aa]
56 You heard[ab] my plea:[ac]
“Do not close your ears to my cry for relief!”[ad]
57 You came near[ae] on the day I called to you;
you said,[af] “Do not fear!”
ר (Resh)
Paul on Malta
28 After we had safely reached shore,[a] we learned that the island was called Malta.[b] 2 The local inhabitants[c] showed us extraordinary[d] kindness, for they built a fire and welcomed us all because it had started to rain[e] and was cold. 3 When Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood[f] and was putting it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the local people[g] saw the creature hanging from Paul’s[h] hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer! Although he has escaped from the sea, Justice herself[i] has not allowed him to live!”[j] 5 However,[k] Paul[l] shook[m] the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 But they were expecting that he was going to swell up[n] or suddenly drop dead. So after they had waited[o] a long time and had seen[p] nothing unusual happen[q] to him, they changed their minds[r] and said he was a god.[s]
7 Now in the region around that place[t] were fields belonging to the chief official[u] of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us hospitably as guests for three days. 8 The father[v] of Publius lay sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him[w] and after praying, placed[x] his hands on him and healed[y] him. 9 After this had happened, many of the people on the island who were sick[z] also came and were healed.[aa] 10 They also bestowed many honors,[ab] and when we were preparing to sail,[ac] they gave[ad] us all the supplies we needed.[ae]
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