Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
To the Director: With stringed instruments. On an eight-stringed harp.[a] A Davidic Psalm
A Prayer in Times of Trouble
6 Lord, in your anger, do not rebuke me;
in your wrath, do not discipline me.
2 Be gracious to me, Lord,
because I am fading away.
Heal me,
because my body[b] is distressed.
3 And my soul[c] is deeply distressed.
But you, Lord, how long do I wait?[d]
4 Return, Lord,
save my life!
Deliver me, because of your gracious love.
5 In death, there is no memory of you.
Who will give you thanks where the dead are?[e]
6 I am weary from my groaning.
Every night my couch is drenched with tears,
my bed is soaked through.
7 My eyesight has faded because of grief,
it has dimmed because of all my enemies.
8 Get away from me, all of you who practice evil,
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my plea;
the Lord receives my prayer.
10 As for all my enemies, they will be put to shame;
they will be greatly frightened
and suddenly turn away ashamed.
The Arameans Flee
3 Now there happened to be four lepers who were at that very moment at the entrance to the city gate. As they were talking with one another, they said, “Why are we sitting here waiting to die? 4 If we tell ourselves, ‘Let’s remain in the city,’ we’ll die there since there’s famine in the city. But if we sit here, we’ll die, too. So let’s go over[a] to the Arameans! If they spare our lives, we’ll live, and if they kill us…we’re dying anyway!”[b]
5 So they got up at dusk and went out to the Aramean encampment. But when they arrived at the outskirts of the Aramean encampment, there was no one there! 6 The Lord had made the Aramean army hear the sounds of chariots, horses, and a large army, so they told one another, “Look! The king of Israel has hired the kings of the Hittites and the Egyptians to come attack us!” 7 So the Arameans[c] got up and ran away in the gathering darkness. They left behind their tents, horses, and donkeys just as they were—and fled for their lives!
8 When the lepers arrived at the outskirts of the encampment, they entered one tent and ate and drank. Then they carried off from there some silver, gold, and clothes, and went out and hid them. After this, they returned, entered another tent, raided it, and went and hid all of that,[d] too! 9 But then they told each other, “We’re not doing the right thing. This is a day of good news, but if we keep quiet until morning, we’re sure to be punished! So let’s leave and go tell the king’s household!” 10 So they left, called out to the city gatekeepers, and reported to them: “We went out to the Aramean encampment, and there was nobody there! Not even the sound of men—only horses and donkeys tied up, and tents left just as they were!”
14 And so, my dear friends, keep on running away from idolatry. 15 I am talking to sensible people. Apply what I am saying to yourselves. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless is our fellowship in the blood of the Messiah,[a] isn’t it? The bread that we break is our fellowship in the body of the Messiah,[b] isn’t it? 17 Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body, because all of us eat from the same loaf.
18 Look at the Israelis from a human point of view.[c] Those who eat the sacrifices share in what is on the altar, don’t they? 19 Am I suggesting that an offering made to idols means anything, or that an idol itself means anything? 20 Hardly! What they offer, they offer to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to become partners with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot dine with the Lord and dine with demons, 22 or you’ll provoke the Lord to jealousy, won’t you? Are we stronger than he is?
All to the Glory of God
23 Everything is permissible, but not everything is helpful. Everything is permissible, but not everything builds up. 24 No one should seek his own welfare, but rather his neighbor’s.
25 Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without raising any question about it on the grounds of conscience, 26 for “the earth and everything in it belong to the Lord.”[d] 27 If an unbeliever invites you to his house and you wish to go, eat whatever is set before you, raising no question on the grounds of conscience. 28 However, if someone says to you, “This was offered as a sacrifice,” don’t eat it, both out of consideration for the one who told you and also for the sake of conscience. 29 I mean, of course, his conscience, not yours. For why should my freedom be determined by someone else’s conscience? 30 If I eat with thankfulness, why should I be denounced because of what I am thankful for?
31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. 32 Don’t become a stumbling block to Jews or Greeks or to the church of God, 33 just as I myself try to please everybody in every way. I don’t look out for my own benefit, but rather for the benefit of many people, so that they might be saved.
Be Imitators of Me
11 Imitate me, as I do the Messiah.[e]
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