Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
BOOK I (Psalms 1-41)
The Righteous and the Wicked[a]
1 How blessed is the person,
who does not take[b] the advice of the wicked,
who does not stand on the path with sinners,
and who does not sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But he delights in the Lord’s instruction,[c]
and meditates in his instruction[d] day and night.
3 He will be like a tree planted by streams of water,
yielding its fruit in its season,
and whose leaf does not wither.
He will prosper in everything he does.
Judah’s Sin and Its Consequence
17 The sin of Judah is engraved
with an iron stylus.
It is inscribed with a diamond point
on the tablet of their heart
and on the horns of their[a] altars.
2 When their sons remember,
they remember their altars[b] and their Asherah poles[c]
beside green trees on the high hills.
3 My mountain in the field, your wealth and your treasures
I’ll give as spoil;
along with your high places as the price of your sin
throughout your territory.
4 You will let go of your inheritance
which I gave you,
and I’ll make you serve your enemies
in a land that you don’t know.
For with my anger you have started a fire
that will burn forever.
The Return of the Unclean Spirit(A)
24 “Whenever an unclean spirit goes out of a person, it wanders through dry places looking for a place to rest but doesn’t find any. So it says, ‘I will go back to my home that I left.’ 25 When it gets back home, it finds it swept clean and put in order. 26 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all go in and settle there. And so the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”
True Blessedness
27 As Jesus[a] was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and told him, “How blessed is the womb that gave birth to you and the breasts that nursed you!”
28 But he said, “Instead, how blessed are those who hear God’s word and obey it!”
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