Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
18 “(A)Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
19 “Behold, I will do something (B)new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even (C)make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.
20 “The beasts of the field will glorify Me,
The (D)jackals and the ostriches,
Because I have (E)given waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My chosen people.
21 “The people whom (F)I formed for Myself
(G)Will declare My praise.
The Shortcomings of Israel
22 “Yet you have not called on Me, O Jacob;
But you have become (H)weary of Me, O Israel.
23 “You have (I)not brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings,
Nor have you (J)honored Me with your sacrifices.
I have not (K)burdened you with [a]offerings,
Nor wearied you with (L)incense.
24 “You have bought Me not [b](M)sweet cane with money,
Nor have you [c]filled Me with the fat of your sacrifices;
Rather you have burdened Me with your sins,
You have (N)wearied Me with your iniquities.
The Psalmist in Sickness Complains of Enemies and False Friends.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
41 How blessed is he who (A)considers the [a]helpless;
The Lord will deliver him (B)in a day of [b]trouble.
2 The Lord will (C)protect him and keep him alive,
And he shall [c]be called (D)blessed upon the earth;
And (E)do not give him over to the desire of his enemies.
3 The Lord will sustain him upon his sickbed;
In his illness, You [d]restore him to health.
4 As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me;
(F)Heal my soul, for (G)I have sinned against You.”
5 My enemies (H)speak evil against me,
“When will he die, and his name perish?”
6 And [e]when he comes to see me, he (I)speaks [f]falsehood;
His heart gathers wickedness to itself;
When he goes outside, he tells it.
7 All who hate me whisper together against me;
Against me they (J)devise my hurt, saying,
8 “A wicked thing is poured out [g]upon him,
That when he lies down, he will (K)not rise up again.”
9 Even my (L)close friend in whom I trusted,
Who ate my bread,
Has lifted up his heel against me.
10 But You, O Lord, be gracious to me and (M)raise me up,
That I may repay them.
11 By this I know that (N)You are pleased with me,
Because (O)my enemy does not shout in triumph over me.
12 As for me, (P)You uphold me in my integrity,
And You set me (Q)in Your presence forever.
13 (R)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
From everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.
18 But as (A)God is faithful, (B)our word to you is not yes and no. 19 For (C)the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us—by me and (D)Silvanus and (E)Timothy—was not yes and no, but is yes (F)in Him. 20 For (G)as many as are the promises of God, (H)in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is (I)our Amen to the glory of God through us. 21 Now He who (J)establishes us with you in Christ and (K)anointed us is God, 22 who also (L)sealed us and (M)gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a [a]pledge.
The Paralytic Healed
2 When He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home. 2 And (A)many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. 3 (B)And they *came, bringing to Him a (C)paralytic, carried by four men. 4 Being unable to [a]get to Him because of the crowd, they (D)removed the roof [b]above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the (E)paralytic was lying. 5 And Jesus seeing their faith *said to the paralytic, “[c]Son, (F)your sins are forgiven.” 6 But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; (G)who can forgive sins [d]but God alone?” 8 Immediately Jesus, aware [e]in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, *said to them, “Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the (H)paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’; or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk’? 10 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He *said to the paralytic, 11 “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.” 12 And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and (I)were glorifying God, saying, “(J)We have never seen anything like this.”
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