Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 5
The Refuge of the Righteous
For the choir director: with the flutes. A psalm of David.
1 Listen to my words, Lord;
consider my sighing.(A)
2 Pay attention to the sound of my cry,(B)
my King and my God,(C)
for I pray to you.
3 In the morning,(D) Lord, you hear my voice;
in the morning I plead my case to you(E) and watch expectantly.
Ahab Rebuked by the Lord
35 One of the sons of the prophets(A) said to his fellow prophet by the word of the Lord, “Strike me!” But the man refused to strike him.
36 He told him, “Because you did not listen to the Lord, mark my words: When you leave me, a lion will kill you.”(B) When he left him, a lion attacked and killed him.
37 The prophet found another man and said to him, “Strike me!” So the man struck him, inflicting a wound. 38 Then the prophet went and waited for the king on the road. He disguised(C) himself with a bandage over his eyes. 39 As the king was passing by, he cried out to the king and said, “Your servant marched out into the middle of the battle. Suddenly, a man turned aside and brought someone to me and said, ‘Guard this man! If he is ever missing, it will be your life in place of his life,(D) or you will weigh out seventy-five pounds[a] of silver.’ 40 But while your servant was busy here and there, he disappeared.”
The king of Israel said to him, “That will be your sentence; you yourself have decided it.”(E)
41 He quickly removed the bandage from his eyes. The king of Israel recognized that he was one of the prophets. 42 The prophet said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because you released from your hand the man I had set apart for destruction,(F) it will be your life in place of his life and your people in place of his people.’” 43 The king of Israel left for home resentful and angry,(G) and he entered Samaria.
The Son of Man Forgives and Heals
17 On one of those days while he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law(A) were sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea, and also from Jerusalem. And the Lord’s power to heal was in him.(B) 18 Just then some men came,(C) carrying on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed. They tried to bring him in and set him down before him. 19 Since they could not find a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the roof tiles into the middle of the crowd before Jesus.
20 Seeing their faith he said, “Friend,[a] your sins are forgiven.”
21 Then the scribes and the Pharisees(D) began to think to themselves, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (E)
22 But perceiving their thoughts, Jesus replied to them, “Why are you thinking this in your hearts?[b] 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he told the paralyzed man, “I tell you: Get up, take your stretcher, and go home.”
25 Immediately he got up before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God.(F) 26 Then everyone was astounded, and they were giving glory to God. And they were filled with awe(G) and said, “We have seen incredible things today.”
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