Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 5
For the music leader. For the flutes. A psalm of David.
5 Hear my words, Lord!
Consider my groans!
2 Pay attention to the sound of my cries, my king and my God,
because I am praying to you!
3 Lord, in the morning you hear my voice.
In the morning I lay it all out before you.
Then I wait expectantly.
4 Because you aren’t a God
who enjoys wickedness;
evil doesn’t live with you.
5 Arrogant people won’t last long
in your sight;
you hate all evildoers;
6 you destroy liars.
The Lord despises people who are violent and dishonest.
7 But me? I will enter your house
because of your abundant, faithful love;
I will bow down at your holy temple,
honoring you.
8 Lord, because of many enemies,
please lead me in your righteousness.
Make your way clear,
right in front of me.
35 At the Lord’s command a certain man who belonged to a prophetic group said to his friend: “Please strike me.” But his friend refused to hit him. 36 So he said to his friend, “Because you didn’t obey the Lord’s voice, a lion will attack you as soon as you leave me.” And as the friend left the prophet, a lion found him and attacked him. 37 Then the prophet found another man and said, “Please strike me.” He hit the prophet, and the attack left a wound. 38 The prophet went and stood before the king by the road. He disguised himself by putting a bandage over his eyes. 39 When the king passed by, the prophet called out to the king, “Your servant was in the middle of the battle when someone brought a prisoner. ‘Guard this man,’ he said. ‘If he escapes it will be your life for his—that, or you will owe me a kikkar of silver.’ 40 Your servant got busy doing this and that, and the prisoner disappeared.”
Israel’s king replied, “It appears you have decided your own fate.”
41 The prophet quickly tore the bandage from over his eyes, and Israel’s king recognized him as one of the prophets. 42 Then the prophet said to the king, “This is what the Lord says: Because you freed a man I condemned to die, it will be your life for his life, and your people for his people.”
43 So Israel’s king went to his palace at Samaria, irritated and upset.
Jesus heals a paralyzed man
17 One day when Jesus was teaching, Pharisees and legal experts were sitting nearby. They had come from every village in Galilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem. Now the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal. 18 Some men were bringing a man who was paralyzed, lying on a cot. They wanted to carry him in and place him before Jesus, 19 but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they took him up on the roof and lowered him—cot and all—through the roof tiles into the crowded room in front of Jesus. 20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
21 The legal experts and Pharisees began to mutter among themselves, “Who is this who insults God? Only God can forgive sins!”
22 Jesus recognized what they were discussing and responded, “Why do you fill your minds with these questions? 23 Which is easier—to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But so that you will know that the Human One[a] has authority on the earth to forgive sins” —Jesus now spoke to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, get up, take your cot, and go home.” 25 Right away, the man stood before them, picked up his cot, and went home, praising God.
26 All the people were beside themselves with wonder. Filled with awe, they glorified God, saying, “We’ve seen unimaginable things today.”
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible