Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Cry of Anguish and a Song of Praise.
For the choir director; upon [a]Aijeleth Hashshahar. A Psalm of David.
22 (A)My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
[b](B)Far from my deliverance are the words of my [c](C)groaning.
2 O my God, I (D)cry by day, but You do not answer;
And by night, but [d]I have no rest.
3 Yet (E)You are holy,
O You who [e]are enthroned upon (F)the praises of Israel.
4 In You our fathers (G)trusted;
They trusted and You (H)delivered them.
5 To You they cried out and were delivered;
(I)In You they trusted and were not [f]disappointed.
6 But I am a (J)worm and not a man,
A (K)reproach of men and (L)despised by the people.
7 All who see me [g](M)sneer at me;
They [h]separate with the lip, they (N)wag the head, saying,
8 “[i]Commit yourself to the Lord; (O)let Him deliver him;
Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”
9 Yet You are He who (P)brought me forth from the womb;
You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.
10 Upon You I was cast (Q)from [j]birth;
You have been my God from my mother’s womb.
11 (R)Be not far from me, for [k]trouble is near;
For there is (S)none to help.
12 Many (T)bulls have surrounded me;
Strong bulls of (U)Bashan have encircled me.
13 They (V)open wide their mouth at me,
As a ravening and a roaring (W)lion.
14 I am (X)poured out like water,
And all my (Y)bones are out of joint;
My (Z)heart is like wax;
It is melted within [l]me.
15 My (AA)strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And (AB)my tongue cleaves to my jaws;
And You (AC)lay me [m]in the dust of death.
Zophar Says, “The Triumph of the Wicked Is Short”
20 Then Zophar the Naamathite [a]answered,
2 “Therefore my disquieting thoughts make me [b]respond,
Even because of my [c]inward agitation.
3 “I listened to (A)the reproof which insults me,
And the spirit of my understanding makes me answer.
4 “Do you know this from (B)of old,
From the establishment of man on earth,
5 That the (C)triumphing of the wicked is short,
And (D)the joy of the godless momentary?
6 “Though his loftiness [d](E)reaches the heavens,
And his head touches the clouds,
7 He (F)perishes forever like his refuse;
Those who have seen him (G)will say, ‘Where is he?’
8 “He flies away like a (H)dream, and they cannot find him;
Even like a vision of the night he is (I)chased away.
9 “The (J)eye which saw him sees him no longer,
And (K)his place no longer beholds him.
10 “His (L)sons [e]favor the poor,
And his hands (M)give back his wealth.
11 “His (N)bones are full of his youthful vigor,
But it lies down with him [f]in the dust.
12 “Though (O)evil is sweet in his mouth
And he hides it under his tongue,
13 Though he [g]desires it and will not let it go,
But holds it (P)in his [h]mouth,
14 Yet his food in his stomach is changed
To the [i]venom of cobras within him.
15 “He swallows riches,
But will (Q)vomit them up;
God will expel them from his belly.
16 “He sucks (R)the poison of cobras;
The viper’s tongue slays him.
17 “He does not look at (S)the streams,
The rivers flowing with honey and curds.
18 “He (T)returns what he has attained
And cannot swallow it;
As to the riches of his trading,
He cannot even enjoy them.
19 “For he has (U)oppressed and forsaken the poor;
He has seized a house which he has not built.
20 “Because he knew no quiet [j]within him,
He does (V)not retain anything he desires.
21 “Nothing remains [k]for him to devour,
Therefore (W)his prosperity does not endure.
22 “In the fullness of his plenty he will be cramped;
The (X)hand of everyone who suffers will come against him.
23 “When he (Y)fills his belly,
God will send His fierce anger on him
And will (Z)rain it on him [l]while he is eating.
24 “He may (AA)flee from the iron weapon,
But the bronze bow will pierce him.
25 “It is drawn forth and comes out of his back,
Even the glittering point from (AB)his gall.
(AC)Terrors come upon him,
26 Complete (AD)darkness is held in reserve for his treasures,
And unfanned (AE)fire will devour him;
It will consume the survivor in his tent.
27 “The (AF)heavens will reveal his iniquity,
And the earth will rise up against him.
28 “The (AG)increase of his house will depart;
His possessions will flow away (AH)in the day of His anger.
29 “This is the wicked man’s (AI)portion from God,
Even the heritage decreed to him by God.”
Tradition and Commandment
15 (A)Then some Pharisees and scribes *came to Jesus (B)from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they (C)do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” 3 And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘(D)Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘(E)He who speaks evil of father or mother is to [a]be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been [b]given to God,” 6 he is not to honor his father or his mother[c].’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you:
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