Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 101[a]
Norm of Life for Rulers
1 A psalm of David.
I
I sing of mercy and justice;
to you, Lord, I sing praise.
2 I study the way of integrity;(A)
when will you come to me?
I act with integrity of heart
within my household.[b](B)
3 I do not allow into my presence anything base.
I hate wrongdoing;
I will have no part of it.(C)
4 May the devious heart keep far from me;
the wicked I will not acknowledge.
5 Whoever slanders a neighbor in secret
I will reduce to silence.(D)
Haughty eyes and arrogant hearts(E)
I cannot endure.
II
6 I look to the faithful of the land[c]
to sit at my side.
Whoever follows the way of integrity(F)
is the one to enter my service.
7 No one who practices deceit
can remain within my house.
No one who speaks falsely
can last in my presence.(G)
8 [d]Morning after morning I clear all the wicked from the land,
to rid the city of the Lord of all doers of evil.
Chapter 8
Dedication of the Temple.[a] 1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the princes in the ancestral houses of the Israelites. They came to King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the Lord’s covenant from the city of David (which is Zion). 2 All the people of Israel assembled before King Solomon during the festival in the month of Ethanim (the seventh month).[b] 3 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark; 4 and they brought up the ark of the Lord and the tent of meeting with all the sacred vessels that were in the tent. The priests and Levites brought them up. 5 King Solomon and the entire community of Israel, gathered for the occasion before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen too many to number or count. 6 [c]The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, the inner sanctuary of the house, the holy of holies, beneath the wings of the cherubim. 7 The cherubim had their wings spread out over the place of the ark, sheltering the ark and its poles from above. 8 (A)The poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary. They cannot be seen from outside, but they remain there to this day. 9 (B)There was nothing in the ark but the two stone tablets which Moses had put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they went forth from the land of Egypt. 10 (C)When the priests left the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the Lord 11 so that the priests could no longer minister because of the cloud, since the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord. 12 [d](D)Then Solomon said,
“The Lord intends to dwell in the dark cloud;
13 I have indeed built you a princely house,
the base for your enthronement forever.”
14 The king turned and blessed the whole assembly of Israel, while the whole assembly of Israel stood. 15 He said: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his own mouth spoke a promise to David my father and by his hand fulfilled it, saying: 16 (E)Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city out of any tribe of Israel for the building of a house, that my name might be there; but I have chosen David to rule my people Israel. 17 When David my father wished to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, 18 the Lord said to him: In wishing to build a house for my name, you did well. 19 But it is not you who will build the house, but your son, who comes from your loins; he shall build the house for my name. 20 Now the Lord has fulfilled the word he spoke: I have succeeded David my father, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord has spoken, and I have built this house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 21 I have provided there a place for the ark in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with our ancestors when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”
The Leaven of the Pharisees. 14 (A)They had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 [a]He enjoined them, “Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” 16 They concluded among themselves that it was because they had no bread. 17 When he became aware of this he said to them, “Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened?(B) 18 Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear? And do you not remember,(C) 19 when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?” They answered him, “Twelve.” 20 “When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?” They answered [him], “Seven.” 21 He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
The Blind Man of Bethsaida.[b]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.