Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A song of David for the dedication of the Temple.[a]
30 Lord, you lifted me out of my troubles.
You did not give my enemies a reason to laugh,
so I will praise you.
2 Lord my God, I prayed to you,
and you healed me.
3 Lord, you lifted me out of the grave.
I was falling into the place of death, but you saved my life.
4 Praise the Lord, you who are loyal to him!
Praise his holy name[b]!
5 His anger lasts for a little while,
but then his kindness brings life.
The night may be filled with tears,
but in the morning we can sing for joy!
6 When I was safe and secure,
I thought nothing could hurt me.
7 Yes, Lord, while you were kind to me,
I felt that nothing could defeat me.[c]
But when you turned away from me,
I was filled with fear.
8 So, Lord, I turned and prayed to you.
I asked you, Lord, to show me mercy.
9 I said, “What good is it if I die
and go down to the grave?
The dead just lie in the dirt.
They cannot praise you.
They cannot tell anyone how faithful you are.
10 Lord, hear my prayer, and be kind to me.
Lord, help me!”
11 You have changed my sorrow into dancing.
You have taken away my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy.
12 You wanted me to praise you and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise you forever!
Rules About Skin Diseases
13 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Someone might have a swelling on their skin, or it may be a rash or a bright spot. If the sore looks like the disease of leprosy, the person must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons, the priests. 3 The priest must look at the sore on the person’s skin. If the hair in the sore has become white, and if the sore seems deeper than the person’s skin, it is leprosy. When the priest has finished looking at the person, he must announce that the person is unclean.
4 “Sometimes there is a white spot on a person’s skin that does not seem deeper than the skin. If that is true, the priest must separate that person from other people for seven days. 5 On the seventh day the priest must look at the person again. If the priest sees that the sore has not changed and has not spread on the skin, he must separate the person for seven more days. 6 Seven days later the priest must look at the person again. If the sore has faded and has not spread on the skin, the priest must announce that the person is clean. The sore is only a rash. After washing the clothes, that person will be clean again.
7 “But if the rash spreads over the skin after the person has shown himself to the priest to be made clean again, that person must come again to the priest. 8 The priest must look, and if the rash has spread, he must announce that the person is unclean. The disease is leprosy.
9 “Whoever has leprosy must be brought to the priest. 10 He must look at that person. If there is a white swelling on the skin, if the hair has become white, and if the skin looks raw in the swelling, 11 it is leprosy that has been there for a long time. The priest must announce that the person is unclean. He does not have to wait until after a period of separation, because he already knows that the person is unclean.
12 “Sometimes a skin disease will spread all over a person’s body, covering the skin from head to foot. The priest must look at that person’s whole body. 13 If the priest sees that the skin disease covers the whole body and that it has turned all the skin white, the priest must announce that the person is clean. 14 But if the skin is raw, that person is not clean. 15 When the priest sees the raw skin, he must announce that the person is unclean. The raw skin is not clean. It is leprosy.
16 “If the raw skin changes and becomes white, the person must come to the priest. 17 The priest must look at the person. If the skin has become white, the person who had the infection is clean, and the priest must announce this.
7 So accept sufferings like a father’s discipline. God does these things to you like a father correcting his children. You know that all children are disciplined by their fathers. 8 So, if you never receive the discipline that every child must have, you are not true children and don’t really belong to God. 9 We have all had fathers here on earth who corrected us with discipline. And we respected them. So it is even more important that we accept discipline from the Father of our spirits. If we do this, we will have life. 10 Our fathers on earth disciplined us for a short time in the way they thought was best. But God disciplines us to help us so that we can be holy like him. 11 We don’t enjoy discipline when we get it. It is painful. But later, after we have learned our lesson from it, we will enjoy the peace that comes from doing what is right.
Be Careful How You Live
12 You have become weak, so make yourselves strong again. 13 Live in the right way so that you will be saved and your weakness will not cause you to be lost.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International