Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
BOOK 3
The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.
A Psalm of Asaph.
73 Surely God is (A)good to Israel,
To those who are (B)pure in heart!
2 But as for me, (C)my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps [a]had almost slipped.
3 For I was (D)envious of the [b]arrogant
As I saw the (E)prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there are no pains in their death,
And their [c]body is fat.
5 They are (F)not [d]in trouble as other [e]men,
Nor are they (G)plagued [f]like mankind.
6 Therefore pride is (H)their necklace;
The (I)garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye [g]bulges from (J)fatness;
The imaginations of their heart [h]run riot.
8 They (K)mock and [i]wickedly speak of oppression;
They (L)speak from on high.
9 They have (M)set their mouth [j]against the heavens,
And their tongue [k]parades through the earth.
10 Therefore [l]his people return to this place,
And waters of (N)abundance are [m]drunk by them.
11 They say, “(O)How does God know?
And is there knowledge [n]with the Most High?”
12 Behold, (P)these are the wicked;
And always (Q)at ease, they have increased in wealth.
13 Surely (R)in vain I have [o]kept my heart pure
And (S)washed my hands in innocence;
14 For I have been stricken (T)all day long
And [p](U)chastened every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the (V)generation of Your children.
16 When I (W)pondered to understand this,
It was [q]troublesome in my sight
17 Until I came into the [r](X)sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their (Y)end.
18 Surely You set them in (Z)slippery places;
You cast them down to [s](AA)destruction.
19 How they are [t](AB)destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by (AC)sudden terrors!
20 Like a (AD)dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when (AE)aroused, You will (AF)despise their [u]form.
Contrast the Upright and the Wicked
14 The (A)wise woman builds her house,
But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.
2 He who (B)walks in his uprightness fears the Lord,
But he who is (C)devious in his ways despises Him.
3 In the mouth of the foolish is a rod [a]for his back,
But (D)the lips of the wise will protect them.
4 Where no oxen are, the manger is clean,
But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.
5 A (E)trustworthy witness will not lie,
But a (F)false witness [b](G)utters lies.
6 A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none,
But knowledge is easy to one who has understanding.
7 Leave the (H)presence of a fool,
Or you will not [c]discern [d]words of knowledge.
8 The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way,
But (I)the foolishness of fools is deceit.
9 Fools mock at [e]sin,
But (J)among the upright there is [f]good will.
The Demoniac
14 (A)When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, 15 “[a]Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a [b](B)lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.” 17 And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured [c]at once.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” 20 And He *said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, (C)if you have faith [d]the size of (D)a mustard seed, you will say to (E)this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and (F)nothing will be impossible to you. 21 [[e](G)But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”]
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