Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
David wrote this psalm for the music leader.
It was when the prophet Nathan came to him, after David had sex with Bathsheba.
Please forgive me, Lord[a]
51 Please forgive me, God,
because of your faithful love.
Because you are so kind,
please clean away my sins.
2 I have done bad things,
so wash me to make me clean again.[b]
3 I know that I have not obeyed you.
I cannot forget that I am guilty.
4 It is you that I have done bad things against,
only you![c]
I have done things that are evil,
as you know.
And so you are fair when you speak against me.
You are right when you say that I am guilty.
5 Yes, even from the day I was born
I have done bad things.
I have always been guilty of sin.
6 But you want me to be completely good and honest.
You want to teach me to be wise
in the way that I live.
7 Splash water over me with a hyssop plant,
and I will be really clean.[d]
Wash me and I will be whiter than snow.[e]
8 Please forgive me so that I can be happy.
Then my whole body will feel well again.
9 Hide your face from my sins.
Clean away all the bad things that I have done.[f]
10 God, please make my heart new and clean.
And make my spirit strong and true,
deep inside me.
11 Do not send me away from you.
Do not take your Holy Spirit away from me.
12 Give me joy again,
because you have made me safe.
Make me strong and ready to obey you.
2 Lord, I have heard the report about you.
I see the things that you have done, Lord,
and I respect your power.
Please do great things like that again.
Do them again now for us to see.
When you are angry with us,
please still remember to be kind!
3 God is coming from Teman!
The Holy God is coming from Paran mountain.[a]
Selah.
His beautiful power covers the whole sky!
People praise him all over the earth!
4 He is as bright as the sunrise.
His hands throw bright lightning!
That is where he hides his power.
5 As he marches to war,
bad disease marches with him.
6 God stands ready to fight,
and he causes the earth to shake.
He looks at the nations
and they shake with fear.
The very old mountains break into pieces.
The old hills fall down flat.
He travels on roads that have been there for ever.
7 I see the tents where Cushan's people live,
and the people are afraid.
The people in Midian are shaking with fear.
8 Was it the rivers that made you angry, Lord?
Did the sea make you so angry?
You rode on your chariots as horses pulled them!
You rode into battle to win against your enemies.
9 You have prepared your bow.
You are ready to shoot your arrows.
Selah.
You send rivers of water to cut the earth into pieces.
10 The mountains see you and they shake.
Rain pours down from the sky and it causes floods.
The deep sea roars
and it lifts its waves up high.
11 You shoot your bright arrows
so that the sun and the moon stand still in the sky.
Your bright spear flies like lightning,
and the sun and the moon do not move!
12 You angrily march across the earth.
You knock down the armies of the nations,
because you are so angry.
13 You have marched out to rescue your people,
and to save your special servant.[b]
You have knocked down the leader of the wicked nation.
You have removed all his clothes,
from head to foot.
Selah.
Jesus at Bethany
12 Six days before the Passover festival, Jesus went to Bethany, the village where Lazarus lived. He was the man who had been dead, but Jesus had raised him. 2 Some friends prepared a special meal there for Jesus. Martha gave out the food, and Lazarus sat among the visitors, with Jesus. 3 Then Mary brought a pound of very expensive oil that had a very nice smell. They used nard to make it. She poured it over Jesus' feet and then she made his feet dry again with her hair. The nice smell of the oil filled the whole house.
4 Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus' disciples, was there. He was the man who would sell Jesus to Jesus' enemies. 5 Judas said, ‘We could have sold this oil for 300 coins. That is as much money as someone would get for a year's work. Then we could have given that money to poor people.’ 6 He did not say this because he really wanted to help the poor people. No, he said it because he wanted the money himself. He kept the bag of money and sometimes he took money from it for himself. 7 But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop her! She has kept this oil safe until now. She wanted it for the day when they will bury my dead body. 8 You will always have poor people with you. But you will not always have me with you.’
9 By this time, a large crowd of Jews had heard the news that Jesus was at Bethany. So they came there to see him. They came also to see Lazarus, because Jesus had made him alive again. 10 So the leaders of the priests decided to kill not only Jesus, but Lazarus too. 11 They wanted to do that because many Jews now refused to obey them. Instead, these Jews believed in Jesus because of what he had done for Lazarus.
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