Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 5
Trust in God for Deliverance from Enemies
To the leader: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.
1 Listen to my words, O Lord;
attend to my sighing.(A)
2 Listen to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to you I pray.(B)
3 O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I plead my case to you and watch.(C)
A Prophet Condemns Ahab
35 At the command of the Lord a certain member of a company of prophets[a] said to another, “Strike me!” But the man refused to strike him.(A) 36 Then he said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, as soon as you have left me, a lion will kill you.” And when he had left him, a lion met him and killed him.(B) 37 Then he found another man and said, “Strike me!” So the man hit him, striking and wounding him. 38 Then the prophet departed and waited for the king along the road, disguising 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 thick of the battle; then a soldier turned and brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man; if he is missing, your life shall be given for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’(C) 40 While your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” The king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it.” 41 Then he quickly took the bandage away from his eyes. The king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 42 Then he said to him, “Thus says the Lord: Because you have let the man go whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall be for his life and your people for his people.”(D) 43 The king of Israel set out toward home, resentful and sullen, and came to Samaria.(E)
Jesus Heals a Paralytic
17 One day while he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem were sitting nearby, and the power of the Lord was with him to heal.[a](A) 18 Just then some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a stretcher. They were trying to bring him in and lay him before Jesus,[b] 19 but, finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down on the stretcher through the tiles into the middle of the crowd[c] in front of Jesus.(B) 20 When he saw their faith, he said, “Friend,[d] your sins are forgiven you.”(C) 21 Then the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, “Who is this who is speaking blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”(D) 22 When Jesus perceived their questionings, he answered them, “Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Stand 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 one who was paralyzed—“I say to you, stand up and take your stretcher and go to your home.” 25 Immediately he stood up before them, took what he had been lying on, and went to his home, glorifying God. 26 Amazement seized all of them, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen incredible things today.”(E)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.