Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Cry of Distress and a Curse on Adversaries.
For the music director; according to [a]Shoshannim. A Psalm of David.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, Lord, (A)at an acceptable time;
God, in the (B)greatness of Your mercy,
Answer me with [a]Your saving truth.
14 Rescue me from the (C)mud and do not let me sink;
May I be (D)rescued from those who hate me, and from the (E)depths of water.
15 May the [b](F)flood of water not overflow me
Nor the deep swallow me up,
Nor the (G)pit close its mouth on me.
30 I will (A)praise the name of God with song,
And (B)exalt Him with (C)thanksgiving.
31 And it will (D)please the Lord better than an ox
Or bull with horns and hoofs.
32 The (E)humble [a]have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God, (F)let your heart [b]revive.
33 For (G)the Lord hears the needy,
And (H)does not despise those of His who are prisoners.
The Tower of Babel
11 Now all the earth [a]used the same language and [b]the same words. 2 And it came about, as they journeyed [c]east, that they found a plain in the land (A)of Shinar and [d]settled there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and [e]fire them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used (B)tar for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top (C)will reach into heaven, and let’s make (D)a name for ourselves; otherwise we (E)will be scattered abroad over the face of all the earth.” 5 Now (F)the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the [f]men had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have [g](G)the same language. And this is what they have started to do, and now nothing which they plan to do will be [h]impossible for them. 7 Come, [i](H)let Us go down and there (I)confuse their [j]language, so that they will not understand one another’s [k]speech.” 8 So the Lord (J)scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth; and they stopped building the city. 9 Therefore it was named [l](K)Babel, because there the Lord confused the [m]language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
The Narrow and Wide Gates
13 “(A)Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
A Tree and Its Fruit
15 “Beware of the (B)false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are (C)ravenous wolves. 16 You will [a](D)know them by their fruits. [b]Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So (E)every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 (F)Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will [c]know them (G)by their fruits.
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