Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 40(A)
For the Music Director. A Psalm of David.
1 I waited patiently for the Lord,
and He turned to me, and heard my cry.
2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
out of the miry clay,
and set my feet on a rock,
and established my steps.
3 He has put a new song in my mouth,
even praise to our God;
many will see it, and fear,
and will trust in the Lord.
4 Blessed is the man
who places trust in the Lord,
but does not turn toward the proud,
nor those falling away to falsehood.
5 O Lord my God,
You have done many wonderful works,
and Your thoughts toward us
cannot be compared;
if I would declare and speak of them,
they are more than can be numbered.
6 Sacrifice and offering You did not desire;
You have opened up my ears to listen.
Burnt offering and sin offering
You have not required.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me,
8 I delight to do Your will, O my God;
Your law is within my inward parts.”
11 Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sin,
they have become to him altars for sinning.
12 I have written for him the great things of My law,
but they were regarded as a strange thing.
13 For the sacrifices of My offerings,
they sacrifice flesh and eat it;
but the Lord does not accept them.
Now He will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins.
They will return to Egypt.
14 Israel has forgotten his Maker
and built temples,
and Judah has multiplied fortified cities;
so I will send a fire upon his cities,
and it will devour his palaces.
Israel’s Sin and Captivity
10 Israel is a fertile vine
that brings forth its fruit.
As his fruit multiplied,
so his altars increased;
as his land prospered,
so he[a] improved his pillars.
2 Their heart is divided;
now they must bear their guilt.
He will break down their altars
and destroy their pillars.
Service That Pleases God
13 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unknowingly. 3 Remember those who are in chains, as if imprisoned with them, and those who are ill treated, since you are also in the body.
4 Marriage is to be honored among everyone, and the bed undefiled. But God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers. 5 Let your lives be without love of money, and be content with the things you have. For He has said:
“I will never leave you,
nor forsake you.”[a]
6 So we may boldly say:
“The Lord is my helper; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?”[b]
7 Remember those who rule over you, who have proclaimed to you the word of God. Follow their faith, considering the results it has produced in their lives. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.
9 Do not be carried away with diverse and strange doctrines. It is a good thing that the heart be strengthened with grace, not with foods, which have not profited those who have been occupied with them. 10 We have an altar from which those who serve in the tabernacle have no right to eat.
11 For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest on account of sin, are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore Jesus also, so that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. 13 Therefore let us go forth to Him outside the camp, bearing the reproach that He bore. 14 For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
15 Through Him, then, let us continually offer to God the sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. 16 But do not forget to do good and to share. For with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.