Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Davidic Psalm: As a Reminder.
The Outcast Cries Out
38 Lord! Do not rebuke me in your anger;
do not correct me in your wrath,
2 because your arrows have sunk deep into me,
and your hand has come down hard on me.
3 My body is unhealthy due to your anger,
and my bones have no rest due to my sin.
4 My iniquities loom over my head;
like a cumbersome burden, they are too heavy for me.
5 My wounds have putrefied and festered
because of my foolishness.
6 I am bent over and walk about greatly bowed down;
all day long I go around mourning.
7 My insides[a] are burning
and my body is unhealthy.
8 I am weak and utterly crushed;
I cry out in distress because of my heart’s anguish.
9 Lord, all my longings are before you,
and my groaning is not hidden from you.
10 My heart pounds,
my strength fails me,
even the gleam in my eye is gone.
11 As for my friends and my neighbors,
they stand aloof from my distress;
even my close relatives stand at a distance.
12 Those who seek my life lay snares for me;
those who seek to do me harm brag all day long about their wicked planning.
13 I am like the deaf, who cannot hear,
and like the mute, who cannot open his mouth.
14 Indeed, I have become like a man who hears nothing,
and in whose mouth there is no rebuke.
15 Because I have placed my hope in you, Lord,
you will answer, Lord, my God.
16 For I said, “Do not let them gloat over me,
as they congratulate themselves when my foot slips.”
17 Indeed, I am being set up for a fall,
and I am continuously reminded of my pain.
18 I confess my iniquity,
and my sin troubles me.
19 But my enemies are alive and well;[b]
those who hate me[c] for no reason are numerous.[d]
20 They[e] reward my good with evil,
opposing me because I seek to do good.[f]
21 Don’t forsake me, Lord.
My God, do not be so distant from me.
22 Come quickly and help me,
Lord, my deliverer.
Laws of Public Testimony
5 “If someone sins because he has failed to testify after receiving notice[a] to testify as a witness regarding what he has observed or learned, he is to be held responsible.”[b]
Offerings for Uncleanness
2 “When a person has touched a ceremonially unclean thing inadvertently,[c] such as the carcass of an unclean animal, or some unclean creeping thing, he will be unclean and guilty nevertheless. 3 When he inadvertently touches the uncleanness of a human being, whatever his uncleanness that made him unclean may be, when he himself comes to know about it, he will be guilty. 4 When a person has sworn inadvertently by what he has said, whether for evil or good, whatever it was that the person spoke, when he comes to understand what he said, he will incur guilt by one of these things. 5 When a person is guilty of one of these things, then he is to confess[d] whatever sin it was 6 and bring compensation to the Lord for the guilt that he committed: a female from the flock—whether a lamb or goat—for a sin offering. Then the priest is to make atonement for him.”
Inexpensive Offering Alternatives
7 “If he can’t afford a goat, then he is to bring to the Lord for his sin offering two turtledoves or two young doves:[e] one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. 8 He is to bring them to the priest, who will offer a sin offering first. He is to wring off its head without separating it. 9 Then he is to sprinkle some of the blood from the sin offering on the sidewall of the altar. Now as to the remainder of the blood, he is to pour it out at the base of the altar for a sin offering. 10 With respect to the second offering, he is to prepare it as a burnt offering, according to the approved procedure.[f] The priest is to make atonement for him on account of his sin that he had committed. Then it will be forgiven him.
11 “If he can’t afford[g] two turtledoves or two young doves, then he is to bring as his offering a tenth of an ephah[h] of fine flour as a sin offering for what he has committed. He is to put no olive oil or frankincense on it, since it’s a sin offering. 12 He is to bring it to the priest. The priest is to take a handful as a memorial and burn it on the altar as an offering made by fire to the Lord. It’s a sin offering. 13 The priest will make atonement for him, on account of the sin that he had committed in any of these things and it will be forgiven him. As far as the priest is concerned, it will be a meal offering.”
Causing Others to Sin(A)
17 Jesus[a] told his disciples, “It is inevitable that temptations to sin will come, but how terrible it will be for the person through whom they come! 2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.
3 “Watch yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4 Even if he sins against you seven times in a day and comes back to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
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