Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Childlike Trust in the Lord.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
131 O Lord, my heart is not (A)proud, nor my eyes [a](B)haughty;
Nor do I [b]involve myself in (C)great matters,
Or in things (D)too [c]difficult for me.
2 Surely I have (E)composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned (F)child rests [d]against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child [e]within me.
3 O Israel, (G)hope in the Lord
(H)From this time forth and forever.
Help Not in Egypt but in God
31 Woe to those who go down to (A)Egypt for help
And (B)rely on horses,
And trust in chariots because they are many
And in horsemen because they are very strong,
But they do not (C)look to the (D)Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord!
2 Yet He also is (E)wise and will (F)bring disaster
And does (G)not retract His words,
But will arise against the house of (H)evildoers
And against the help of the (I)workers of iniquity.
3 Now the Egyptians are (J)men and not God,
And their (K)horses are flesh and not spirit;
So the Lord will (L)stretch out His hand,
And (M)he who helps will stumble
And he who is helped will fall,
And all of them will come to an end together.
4 For thus says the Lord to me,
“As the (N)lion or the young lion growls over his prey,
Against which a band of shepherds is called out,
And he will not be terrified at their voice nor disturbed at their noise,
So will the Lord of hosts come down to wage (O)war on Mount Zion and on its hill.”
5 Like [a]flying (P)birds so the Lord of hosts will protect Jerusalem.
He will (Q)protect and deliver it;
He will pass over and rescue it.
6 (R)Return to Him from whom [b]you have (S)deeply defected, O sons of Israel. 7 For in that day every man will (T)cast away his silver idols and his gold idols, which your (U)sinful hands have made for you as (V)a sin.
8 And the (W)Assyrian will fall by a sword not of man,
And a (X)sword not of man will devour him.
So he will [c](Y)not escape the sword,
And his young men will become (Z)forced laborers.
9 “His (AA)rock will pass away because of panic,
And his princes will be terrified at the (AB)standard,”
Declares the Lord, whose (AC)fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
Pharisees’ Blasphemy
14 (A)And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute; when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed. 15 But some of them said, “He casts out demons (B)by (C)Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” 16 Others, [a]to test Him, (D)were demanding of Him a [b]sign from heaven. 17 (E)But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “[c]Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against [d]itself falls. 18 If (F)Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by (G)Beelzebul. 19 And if I by (H)Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? So they will be your judges. 20 But if I cast out demons by the (I)finger of God, then (J)the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When [e]a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are [f]undisturbed. 22 But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder. 23 (K)He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.
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