Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Prayer for God to Guide
Of David.
25 Lord, I ·give myself [L lift my soul] to you;
2 my God, I ·trust [have confidence in] you.
Do not let me be ·disgraced [shamed];
do not let my enemies ·laugh at [triumph/exult over] me.
3 No one who ·trusts [hopes in; waits on] you will be ·disgraced [shamed],
but those who ·sin [betray; are treacherous] without excuse will be ·disgraced [shamed].
4 Lord, ·tell me [make me know] your ways.
·Show [L Teach] me ·how to live [L your paths].
5 ·Guide [Lead] me in your truth,
and teach me, my God, my ·Savior [Helper; Victor].
I ·trust [hope in; wait on] you all day long.
6 Lord, remember your ·mercy [compassion] and ·love [loyalty; covenant love]
that you have shown since long ago.
7 Do not remember the sins
and ·wrong things I did when I was young [transgressions of my youth].
But remember ·to love me [L according to your love/loyalty/covenant love] always
·because you are good [on account of your goodness], Lord.
8 The Lord is good and ·right [upright; virtuous];
he ·points [instructs] sinners to the right way.
9 He shows those who are humble how to do right,
and he teaches them his ways.
10 All the Lord’s ·ways [paths] are ·loving [loyal] and ·true [reliable]
for those who ·follow [keep; guard] the demands of his ·agreement [covenant].
It Is Better to Confess Sin
A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] of David.
32 ·Happy [Blessed] is the person
whose ·sins [transgressions] are forgiven,
whose ·wrongs [sins] are ·pardoned [L covered].
2 ·Happy [Blessed] is the person
whom the Lord ·does not consider guilty [imputes no guilt to]
and in ·whom [L whose spirit] there is nothing ·false [deceptive].
3 When I kept ·things to myself [silent],
·I felt weak deep inside me [L my bones wasted away].
I ·moaned [sighed] all day long.
4 Day and night ·you punished me [L your hand was heavy on me].
My strength was ·gone [dried up; sapped] as in the summer heat. ·
5 Then I ·confessed [made known; disclosed] my sins to you
and didn’t ·hide [cover up] my guilt.
I said, “I will confess my ·sins [transgressions] to the Lord,”
and you forgave ·my guilt [L the guilt of my sin]. ·
6 For this reason, all ·who obey you [your saints/holy ones]
should pray to you while ·they still can [or you may be found; L at a time of finding only; Prov. 1:24–27].
When troubles rise like a flood,
they will not reach them.
7 You are my hiding place.
You protect me from ·my troubles [distress]
and ·fill [L surround] me with ·songs [loud cries] of ·salvation [rescue; T deliverance]. ·
8 The Lord says, “I will ·make you wise [instruct you] and ·show [teach] you ·where to [L the way you should] go.
I will ·guide [counsel] you and ·watch over [L my eye will be on] you.
9 So don’t be like a horse or donkey,
that doesn’t understand.
·They must be led [L …whose temper/or gallop must be restrained] with bits and reins,
or they will not come near you.”
10 Wicked people have many ·troubles [pains; torments; woes],
but the Lord’s ·love [loyalty; covenant love] surrounds those who ·trust [have confidence in] him.
11 ·Good [Righteous] people, rejoice and be happy in the Lord.
·Sing [Shout joyfully] all you whose hearts are ·right [upright; virtuous].
2 [L And look/T behold] Some people brought to Jesus a man who was paralyzed and lying on a ·mat [cot; bed]. When Jesus saw ·the faith of these people [L their faith], he said to the paralyzed man, “·Be encouraged [Have courage; Take heart], ·young man [son; child]. Your sins are forgiven.”
3 Some of the ·teachers of the law [scribes] said to themselves, “·This man speaks as if he were God. That is blasphemy [L This man blasphemes]!”
4 ·Knowing [Perceiving] their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why are you thinking evil ·thoughts [L in your hearts]? 5 [L For] Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to tell him, ‘Stand up and walk’? 6 But ·I will prove to you [L so that you may know] that the Son of Man [C a title for the Messiah; Dan. 7:13–14] has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Stand up, ·take [pick up] your ·mat [cot; bed], and go home.” 7 And the man stood up and went home. 8 When the ·people [crowds] saw this, they were ·amazed [filled with awe; afraid] and ·praised [glorified] God for giving ·power like this [such authority] to ·human beings [mankind; C the language echoes the Son of Man title just used by Jesus (v. 6), which the crowds misunderstand to mean simply “a human being”].
Jesus Chooses Matthew(A)
9 When Jesus was ·leaving [walking along], he saw a man named Matthew sitting in the tax collector’s booth [C probably a tariff booth for taxing goods in transit]. Jesus said to him, “Follow me,” and he stood up and followed Jesus.
10 As Jesus was ·having dinner [L reclining; C around a low table; the posture for a formal banquet or dinner party] at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ·ate [L reclined together] with Jesus and his ·followers [disciples]. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked Jesus’ ·followers [disciples], “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors [C despised because they worked for the Roman rulers and were notorious for corruption and extortion] and sinners?”
12 When Jesus heard them, he said, “It is not the healthy people who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I ·want [desire; require; am pleased by] ·kindness [compassion; mercy] ·more than I want [L not] animal sacrifices [Hos. 6:6].’ [L For] I did not come to ·invite [call] ·good people [the righteous; C meaning the “self-righteous” who feel no need to repent] but to invite [call] sinners [C those who recognize their need to repent].”
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