Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
For the choir director; a psalm by David.
139 O Lord, you have examined me, and you know me.
2 You alone know when I sit down and when I get up.
You read my thoughts from far away.
3 You watch me when I travel and when I rest.
You are familiar with all my ways.
4 Even before there is a ⌞single⌟ word on my tongue,
you know all about it, Lord.
5 You are all around me—in front of me and in back of me.
You lay your hand on me.
6 Such knowledge is beyond my grasp.
It is so high I cannot reach it.
13 You alone created my inner being.
You knitted me together inside my mother.
14 I will give thanks to you
because I have been so amazingly and miraculously made.
Your works are miraculous, and my soul is fully aware of this.
15 My bones were not hidden from you
when I was being made in secret,
when I was being skillfully woven in an underground workshop.
16 Your eyes saw me when I was still an unborn child.
Every day ⌞of my life⌟ was recorded in your book
before one of them had taken place.
17 How precious are your thoughts concerning me, O God!
How vast in number they are!
18 If I try to count them,
there would be more of them than there are grains of sand.
When I wake up, I am still with you.
14 Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed.
Rescue me, and I will be rescued.
You are the one I praise.
15 People keep asking me,
“Where is the Lord’s word?
Let it come.”
16 I have not run away from being your shepherd,
and I have not longed for the day of destruction.
You know what came out of my mouth.
17 Do not terrorize me.
You are my refuge on the day of disaster.
18 Put my persecutors to shame,
but do not let me be put to shame.
Terrify them,
but do not let me be terrified.
Bring the day of disaster on them,
and destroy them completely.
The Blessing That Comes from Observing the Day of Rest as a Holy Day
19 This is what the Lord said to me: Stand at People’s Gate, where the kings of Judah go in and out. Then stand at every gate in Jerusalem. 20 Tell everyone: “Listen to the Lord’s word, you kings of Judah, all the people of Judah, and all those who live in Jerusalem, and go through these gates. 21 This is what the Lord says: Watch out! If you value your lives, do not carry anything on the day of rest—a holy day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 Do not bring anything out of your homes on the day of rest. Do not do any work, but observe the day of rest as a holy day, as I told your ancestors. 23 Your ancestors did not obey me or pay attention to me. They were impossible to deal with and would not listen or accept discipline.
24 “Now,” declares the Lord, “you must listen to me and not bring anything through the gates of this city on the day of rest. You must observe the day of rest as a holy day by not doing any work on it. 25 If you do this, then the kings and princes who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this city. They and their princes will ride in chariots and on horses along with the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. This city will always have people living in it.
26 “People will come from the cities of Judah, from all around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin, from the foothills, from the mountains, and from the Negev. They will bring burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and incense. They will also bring thank offerings to the Lord’s temple. 27 But you must listen to me and observe the day of rest as a holy day by not carrying anything through the gates of Jerusalem on the day of rest. If you don’t do this, I will set its gates on fire. The fire will burn down the palaces in Jerusalem, and you won’t be able to put it out.”
34 “Don’t think that I came to bring peace to earth. I didn’t come to bring peace but conflict. 35 I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 A person’s enemies will be the members of his own family.
37 “The person who loves his father or mother more than me does not deserve to be my disciple. The person who loves a son or daughter more than me does not deserve to be my disciple. 38 Whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow me doesn’t deserve to be my disciple. 39 The person who tries to preserve his life will lose it, but the person who loses his life for me will preserve it.
40 “The person who welcomes you welcomes me, and the person who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41 The person who welcomes a prophet as such will receive a prophet’s reward. The person who welcomes a godly person as such will receive a godly person’s reward. 42 I can guarantee this truth: Whoever gives any of my humble followers a cup of cold water because that person is my disciple will certainly never lose his reward.”
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