Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 83[a]
A song, a psalm of Asaph.
83 O God, do not be silent.
Do not ignore us.[b] Do not be inactive, O God.
2 For look, your enemies are making a commotion;
those who hate you are hostile.[c]
3 They carefully plot[d] against your people,
and make plans to harm[e] the ones you cherish.[f]
4 They say, “Come on, let’s annihilate them so they are no longer a nation.[g]
Then the name of Israel will be remembered no more.”
5 Yes,[h] they devise a unified strategy;[i]
they form an alliance[j] against you.
6 It includes[k] the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,[l]
7 Gebal,[m] Ammon, and Amalek,
Philistia and the inhabitants of Tyre.
8 Even Assyria has allied with them,
lending its strength to the descendants of Lot.[n] (Selah)
9 Do to them as you did to Midian[o]—
as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.[p]
10 They were destroyed at Endor;[q]
their corpses were like manure[r] on the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,[s]
and all their rulers like Zebah and Zalmunna,[t]
12 who said,[u] “Let’s take over[v] the pastures of God.”
13 O my God, make them like dead thistles,[w]
like dead weeds blown away by[x] the wind.
14 Like the fire that burns down the forest,
or the flames that consume the mountainsides,[y]
15 chase them with your gale winds,
and terrify[z] them with your windstorm.
16 Cover[aa] their faces with shame,
so they might seek[ab] you,[ac] O Lord.
17 May they be humiliated and continually terrified.[ad]
May they die in shame.[ae]
18 Then they will know[af] that you alone are the Lord,[ag]
the Most High[ah] over all the earth.
5 “I[a] will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination; those who commit adultery; those who break promises;[b] and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans,[c] who refuse to help[d] the resident foreigner[e] and in this way show they do not fear me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
Resistance to the Lord through Selfishness
6 “Since, I, the Lord, do not go back on my promises,[f] you, sons of Jacob, have not perished. 7 From the days of your ancestors you have ignored[g] my commandments[h] and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “But you say, ‘How should we return?’ 8 Can a person rob[i] God? You are indeed robbing me, but you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and contributions![j] 9 You are bound for judgment[k] because you are robbing me—this whole nation is guilty.[l]
10 “Bring the entire tithe into the storehouse[m] so that there may be food in my temple. Test me in this matter,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “to see if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out blessing for you until there is no room for it all. 11 Then I will stop the plague[n] from ruining your crops,[o] and the vine will not lose its fruit before harvest,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 12 “All nations will call you blessed, for you indeed will live in[p] a delightful land,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
Healing and Forgiving a Paralytic
2 Now[a] after some days, when he returned to Capernaum,[b] the news spread[c] that he was at home. 2 So many gathered that there was no longer any room, not even by[d] the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some people[e] came bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them.[f] 4 When they were not able to bring him in because of the crowd, they removed the roof[g] above Jesus.[h] Then,[i] after tearing it out, they lowered the stretcher the paralytic was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their[j] faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”[k] 6 Now some of the experts in the law[l] were sitting there, turning these things over in their minds:[m] 7 “Why does this man speak this way? He is blaspheming![n] Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 Now[o] immediately, when Jesus realized in his spirit that they were contemplating such thoughts,[p] he said to them, “Why are you thinking such things in your hearts?[q] 9 Which is easier,[r] to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up, take your stretcher, and walk’? 10 But so that you may know[s] that the Son of Man[t] has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—he said to the paralytic[u]— 11 “I tell you, stand up, take your stretcher, and go home.”[v] 12 And immediately the man[w] stood up, took his stretcher, and went out in front of them all. They were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
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