Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 5
For the Music Director. With the flutes. A Psalm of David.
1 Give ear to my words, O Lord;
consider my meditation.
2 Listen to the voice of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to You will I pray.
3 O Lord, in the morning You will hear my voice;
in the morning I will direct my prayer to You,
and I will watch expectantly.
4 For You are not a God who has pleasure in wickedness,
nor will evil dwell with You.
5 Those who boast will not stand in Your sight;
You hate all workers of iniquity.
6 You will destroy those who speak lies;
the Lord abhors
the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
7 But as for me, in the abundance of Your mercy
I will enter Your house;
in fear of You I will worship
at Your holy temple.
8 Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness
because of my enemies;
make Your way straight before me.
A Prophet Condemns Ahab
35 Speaking in the word of the Lord, a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbor, “Strike me, please.” But the man refused to strike him.
36 Then he said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, as soon as you leave me, a lion will kill you.” And as soon as he left him, a lion found and killed him.
37 Then he found another man and said, “Strike me, please.” And the man struck him so that he was wounded. 38 So the prophet departed and waited by the road for the king and disguised himself with ashes on his face. 39 As the king passed by, he cried to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle, and a man turned aside and brought a man to me and said, ‘Keep this man, and if by any means he goes missing, then your life shall be given for his life, or else you shall pay a talent[a] of silver.’ 40 As your servant was busy here and there, he disappeared.”
And the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you have decided it yourself.”
41 He quickly took the ashes away from his face, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 42 He said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand a man whom I had appointed to utter destruction, you shall pay for his life with your life and his people with your people.’ ” 43 The king of Israel went to his house in Samaria angry and depressed.
The Healing of a Paralytic(A)
17 On a certain day, as He was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting nearby, who had come from every town of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal the sick. 18 Now some men brought in a bed a man who was paralyzed. They searched for ways to bring him in and lay him before Him. 19 When they could not find a way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his bed into their midst before Jesus.
20 When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”
21 The scribes and the Pharisees began to question, “Who is He who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
22 When Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered them, “Why question in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’? 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” He said to the paralyzed man, “I say to you, rise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 25 Immediately he rose before them, and took up that on which he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. 26 They were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen wonderful things today.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.