Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 51
A Prayer for Restoration
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm, when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had gone to Bathsheba.(A)
1 Be gracious to me, God,
according to Your faithful love;
according to Your abundant compassion,
blot out my rebellion.(B)
2 Wash away my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.(C)
3 For I am conscious of my rebellion,
and my sin is always before me.(D)
4 Against You—You alone—I have sinned
and done this evil in Your sight.(E)
So You are right when You pass sentence;
You are blameless when You judge.(F)
5 Indeed, I was guilty when I was born;
I was sinful when my mother conceived me.(G)
6 Surely You desire integrity in the inner self,
and You teach me wisdom deep within.(H)
7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.(I)
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones You have crushed rejoice.(J)
9 Turn Your face away[a] from my sins
and blot out all my guilt.(K)
10 God, create a clean heart for me
and renew a steadfast[b] spirit within me.(L)
11 Do not banish me from Your presence
or take Your Holy Spirit from me.(M)
12 Restore the joy of Your salvation to me,
and give me a willing spirit.[c](N)
13 Then I will teach the rebellious Your ways,
and sinners will return to You.(O)
14 Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God,(P)
the God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness.(Q)
15 Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare Your praise.(R)
16 You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it;
You are not pleased with a burnt offering.(S)
17 The sacrifice pleasing to God is[d] a broken spirit.
God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart.(T)
Jonah’s Preaching
3 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time:(A) 2 “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh(B) and preach(C) the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the Lord’s command.
Now Nineveh was an extremely large city,[a](D) a three-day walk.[b] 4 Jonah set out on the first day of his walk in the city and proclaimed,(E) “In 40 days Nineveh will be demolished!” 5 The men of Nineveh believed in God.[c] They proclaimed a fast(F) and dressed in sackcloth—from the greatest of them to the least.
6 When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth,(G) and sat in ashes. 7 Then he issued a decree(H) in Nineveh:
By order of the king and his nobles: No man or beast, herd or flock, is to taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink water. 8 Furthermore, both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth, and everyone must call out earnestly to God.(I) Each must turn from his evil ways(J) and from the violence[d] he is doing.[e] 9 Who knows?(K) God may turn and relent; He may turn from His burning anger so that we will not perish.(L)
10 Then God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways(M)—so God relented from the disaster(N) He had threatened to do to them. And He did not do it.
God’s Good News for Rome
1 Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle[a](A) and singled out(B) for God’s good news(C)— 2 which He promised long ago(D) through His prophets(E) in the Holy Scriptures— 3 concerning His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was a descendant of David[b](F) according to the flesh(G) 4 and who has been declared to be the powerful(H) Son of God(I) by the resurrection from the dead according to the Spirit of holiness.[c] 5 We have received grace and apostleship(J) through Him to bring about[d] the obedience(K) of faith[e] among all the nations,[f](L) on behalf of His name, 6 including yourselves who also belong to Jesus Christ by calling:(M)
7 To all who are in Rome, loved by God,(N) called(O) as saints.(P)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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