Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
To the Director: With stringed instruments. On an eight-stringed harp.[a] A Davidic Psalm
A Prayer in Times of Trouble
6 Lord, in your anger, do not rebuke me;
in your wrath, do not discipline me.
2 Be gracious to me, Lord,
because I am fading away.
Heal me,
because my body[b] is distressed.
3 And my soul[c] is deeply distressed.
But you, Lord, how long do I wait?[d]
4 Return, Lord,
save my life!
Deliver me, because of your gracious love.
5 In death, there is no memory of you.
Who will give you thanks where the dead are?[e]
6 I am weary from my groaning.
Every night my couch is drenched with tears,
my bed is soaked through.
7 My eyesight has faded because of grief,
it has dimmed because of all my enemies.
8 Get away from me, all of you who practice evil,
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my plea;
the Lord receives my prayer.
10 As for all my enemies, they will be put to shame;
they will be greatly frightened
and suddenly turn away ashamed.
Gehazi’s Greed is Punished
15 Naaman[a] went back to the man of God, along with his entire entourage, and stood before him. “Please look!” he said. “I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel! So please, take a present from your servant.”
16 But Elisha[b] replied, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will not receive anything from you.” Though Naaman[c] urged him to take it, Elisha[d] declined.
17 So Naaman asked, “No? Then please let your servant load two mules with dirt from Israel,[e] because your servant will no longer offer any burnt offering or sacrifice to any other god but the Lord. 18 In this one area may the Lord pardon your servant: Whenever my master enters the temple of Rimmon to worship there, he will lean on my hand while I bow down in the temple of Rimmon. So may the Lord pardon your servant in this one area.”
19 “Go in peace,” he said. So Naaman[f] left.
After Naaman had gone only a short distance,
21 After these things had happened, Paul decided[a] to go through Macedonia and Achaia and then to go on to Jerusalem. “After I have gone there,” he told them, “I must also see Rome.” 22 Then he sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he himself stayed in Asia a while longer.
A Riot in Ephesus
23 Now about that time a great commotion broke out concerning the Way. 24 By making silver shrines of Artemis, a silversmith named Demetrius provided a large income for skilled workers. 25 He called a meeting of these men and others who were engaged in similar trades and said, “Men, you well know that we get a good income from this business. 26 You also see and hear that, not only in Ephesus, but almost all over Asia, this man Paul has won over and taken away a large crowd by telling them that gods made by human[b] hands are not gods at all. 27 There is a danger not only that our business will lose its reputation but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be brought into disrepute and that she will be robbed of her majesty that brought all Asia and the world to worship her.”
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