Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
(A special psalm by David.)
The Joy of Forgiveness
1 (A) Our Lord, you bless everyone
whose sins you forgive
and wipe away.
2 You bless them by saying,
“You told me your sins,
without trying to hide them,
and now I forgive you.”
3 Before I confessed my sins,
my bones felt limp,
and I groaned all day long.
4 Night and day your hand
weighed heavily on me,
and my strength was gone
as in the summer heat.
5 So I confessed my sins
and told them all to you.
I said, “I'll tell the Lord
each one of my sins.”
Then you forgave me
and took away my guilt.
6 We worship you, Lord,
and we should always pray
whenever we find out
that we have sinned.[a]
Then we won't be swept away
by a raging flood.
7 You are my hiding place!
You protect me from trouble,
and you put songs in my heart
because you have saved me.
8 You said to me,
“I will point out the road
that you should follow.
I will be your teacher
and watch over you.
9 Don't be stupid
like horses and mules
that must be led with ropes
to make them obey.”
10 All kinds of troubles
will strike the wicked,
but your kindness shields those
who trust you, Lord.
11 And so your good people
should celebrate and shout.
Cain Murders Abel
4 Adam[a] and Eve had a son. Then Eve said, “I'll name him Cain because I got[b] him with the help of the Lord.” 2 Later she had another son and named him Abel.
Abel became a sheep farmer, but Cain farmed the land. 3 One day, Cain gave part of his harvest to the Lord, 4 (A) and Abel also gave an offering to the Lord. He killed the first-born lamb from one of his sheep and gave the Lord the best parts of it. The Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering, 5 but not with Cain and his offering. This made Cain so angry that he could not hide his feelings.
6 The Lord said to Cain:
What's wrong with you? Why do you look so angry? 7 If you had done the right thing, you would be smiling.[c] But you did the wrong thing, and now sin is waiting to attack you like a lion. Sin wants to destroy you, but don't let it!
8 (B) Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let's go for a walk.”[d] And when they were out in a field, Cain attacked and killed him.
9 Afterwards the Lord asked Cain, “Where is Abel?”
“How should I know?” he answered. “Am I supposed to look after my brother?”
10 (C) Then the Lord said:
Why have you done this terrible thing? You killed your own brother, and his blood flowed onto the ground. Now his blood is calling out for me to punish you. 11 And so, I'll put you under a curse. Because you killed Abel and made his blood run out on the ground, you will never be able to farm it again. 12 When you try to farm the land, it won't produce anything for you. From now on, you'll be without a home, and you'll spend the rest of your life wandering from place to place.
13 “This punishment is too hard!” Cain said. 14 “You're making me leave my home and live far from you.[e] I will have to wander about without a home, and just anyone could kill me.”
15 “No!”[f] the Lord answered. “Anyone who kills you will be punished seven times worse than I am punishing you.” So the Lord put a mark on Cain to warn everyone not to kill him. 16 But Cain had to go far from the Lord and live in the Land of Wandering,[g] which is east of Eden.
Jesus Is the Great High Priest
14 We have a great high priest, who has gone into heaven, and he is Jesus the Son of God. This is why we must hold on to what we have said about him. 15 Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin! 16 So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved grace, and we will find help.
5 Every high priest is appointed to help others by offering gifts and sacrifices to God because of their sins. 2 A high priest has weaknesses of his own, and he feels sorry for foolish and sinful people. 3 (A) This is why he must offer sacrifices for his own sins and for the sins of others. 4 (B) But no one can have the honor of being a high priest simply by wanting to be one. Only God can choose a priest, and God is the one who chose Aaron.
5 (C) This is how it was with Christ. He became a high priest, but not just because he wanted the honor of being one. It was God who told him,
“You are my Son, because today
I have become your Father!”
6 (D) In another place, God says,
“You are a priest forever
just like Melchizedek.”[a]
7 (E) God had the power to save Jesus from death. And while Jesus was on earth, he begged God with loud crying and tears to save him. He truly worshiped God, and God listened to his prayers. 8 Jesus is God's own Son, but still he had to suffer before he could learn what it really means to obey God. 9 Suffering made Jesus perfect, and now he can save forever all who obey him. 10 This is because God chose him to be a high priest like Melchizedek.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.