Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Prayer for Protection from the Wicked.

For the choir director; for ^[a]flute accompaniment. A Psalm of David.

³⁵ Now a certain man of ^(A)the sons of the prophets said to ^[a]another ^(B)by the word of the Lord, “Please strike me.” But the man refused to strike him. ³⁶ Then he said to him, “Because you have not listened to the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as you have departed from me, ^(C)a lion will ^[b]kill you.” And as soon as he had departed from him a lion found him and ^[c]killed him. ³⁷ Then he found another man and said, “Please ^[d]strike me.” And the man ^[e]struck him, ^[f]wounding him. ³⁸ So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way, and ^(D)disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes. ³⁹ As the king passed by, he cried to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and behold, a man turned aside and brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man; if for any reason he is missing, ^(E)then your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’ ⁴⁰ While your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” And the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it.” ⁴¹ Then he hastily took the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him that he was of the prophets. ⁴² He said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore ^(F)your ^[g]life shall go for his ^[h]life, and your people for his people.’” ⁴³ So ^(G)the king of Israel went to his house sullen and vexed, and came to Samaria.

^17 [a]One day He was teaching; and ^(A)there were some Pharisees and ^(B)teachers of the law sitting there, who had ^(C)come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and ^(D)the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. ^18 (E)And some men were carrying on a ^[b]bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. ¹⁹ But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on ^(F)the roof and let him down ^(G)through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. ²⁰ Seeing their faith, He said, “^[c]Friend, ^(H)your sins are forgiven you.” ²¹ The scribes and the Pharisees ^(I)began to reason, saying, “^(J)Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? ^(K)Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” ²² But Jesus, ^[d]aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ²⁴ But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the ^(L)paralytic—“I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.” ²⁵ Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home ^(M)glorifying God. ^26 [e]They were all struck with astonishment and began ^(N)glorifying God; and they were filled ^(O)with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today.”