Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 40
For the worship leader. A song of David.
1 I waited a long time for the Eternal;
He finally knelt down to hear me.
He listened to my weak and whispered cry.
2 He reached down and drew me
from the deep, dark hole where I was stranded, mired in the muck and clay.
With a gentle hand, He pulled me out
To set me down safely on a warm rock;
He held me until I was steady enough to continue the journey again.
3 As if that were not enough,
because of Him my mind is clearing up.
Now I have a new song to sing—
a song of praise to the One who saved me.
Because of what He’s done, many people will see
and come to trust in the Eternal.
4 Surely those who trust the Eternal—
who don’t trust in proud, powerful people
Or in people who care little for reality, chasing false gods—
surely they are happy, as I have become.
5 You have done so many wonderful things,
had so many tender thoughts toward us, Eternal my God,
that go on and on, ever increasing.
Who can compare with You?
6 Sacrifices and offerings are not what You want,
but You’ve opened my ears,[a] and now I understand.
Burnt offerings and sin offerings
are not what please You.
7 So I said, “See, I have come to do Your will,
as it is inscribed of me in the scroll.
8 I am pleased to live how You want, my God.
Your law is etched into my heart and my soul.”
14 Return, Israel, to the Eternal, your True God.
You’ve stumbled because of your wickedness.
2 Think about what to say, and come back to the Eternal One.
Say to Him, “Forgive all our sins, and take us back again.
Bring us into Your good grace so we can offer You praise and sacrifice,
the fruit of our lips.
3 We admit that Assyria can’t save us, nor can riding horses and chariots into battle.
We’ll never again say to idols made with our own hands, ‘You’re our gods!’
We know You’re merciful because You take care of orphans.”
4 Eternal One: I’ll heal their apostate hearts so they won’t turn away from Me again;
I’ll love them freely because I won’t be angry with them anymore.
5 I’ll be like dew that waters Israel. She’ll blossom like the lily.
She’ll put down roots like the stable cedars of Lebanon;
6 She’ll send out shoots until her beauty is like the olive tree
and her fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon.
7 The people will return from exile and sit in My shade once again;
they’ll flourish like grain; they’ll send out shoots like the vine.
And their fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 Ephraim, what do I have in common with deaf and blind idols?
I’m the One who responds to your pleas and cares for you.
I’m like a flourishing juniper tree; I provide life year-round.
9 The wise will understand these things;
the perceptive will know them.
For everything the Eternal One does is right,
and the righteous follow His ways.
But those who turn against Him will stumble along His path.
12 The Sabbath came, and Jesus walked through a field. His disciples, who were hungry, began to pick some of the grain and eat it.
The Sabbath is a day of rest when one creates nothing, breaks nothing, gives nothing, makes no contracts, cuts no flowers, and boils no water; it is a day set aside by the Lord to remember the creative work of God, to experience the peace of the Lord, and to rest in the provision of God.
2 When the Pharisees saw this, they reacted.
Pharisees: Look! Your disciples are breaking the law of the Sabbath!
Jesus: 3 Haven’t you read what David did? When he and his friends were hungry, 4 they went into God’s house and they ate the holy bread, even though neither David nor his friends, but only priests, were allowed that bread. 5 Indeed, have you not read that on the Sabbath priests themselves do work in the temple, breaking the Sabbath law yet remaining blameless? 6 Listen, One who is greater than the temple is here.
7 Do you not understand what the prophet Hosea recorded, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”[a]? If you understood that snippet of Scripture, you would not condemn these innocent men for ostensibly breaking the law of the Sabbath. 8 For the Son of Man has not only the authority to heal and cast out demons, He also has authority over the Sabbath.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.