Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
28 (0) By David:
(1) Adonai, I am calling to you;
my Rock, don’t be deaf to my cry.
For if you answer me with silence,
I will be like those who fall in a pit.
2 Hear the sound of my prayers
when I cry to you,
when I lift my hands
toward your holy sanctuary.
3 Don’t drag me off with the wicked,
with those whose deeds are evil;
they speak words of peace to their fellowmen,
but evil is in their hearts.
4 Pay them back for their deeds,
as befits their evil acts;
repay them for what they have done,
give them what they deserve.
5 For they don’t understand the deeds of Adonai
or what he has done.
He will break them down;
he will not build them up.
6 Blessed be Adonai,
for he heard my voice as I prayed for mercy.
7 Adonai is my strength and shield;
in him my heart trusted, and I have been helped.
Therefore my heart is filled with joy,
and I will sing praises to him.
8 Adonai is strength for [his people],
a stronghold of salvation to his anointed.
9 Save your people! Bless your heritage!
Shepherd them, and carry them forever!
12 The word of Adonai came to me: 13 “Human being, when a land sins against me by dealing treacherously with me, so that I stretch out my hand over it and break off its food supply, sending it famine and eliminating both its humans and its animals; 14 even if these three men were in it — Noach, Dani’el and Iyov — they would by their righteousness save only themselves,” says Adonai Elohim.
15 “If I unleash wild beasts on the land, and they kill its children and desolate it, so that no one can pass through because of the animals; 16 even if these three men were in it, as I live,” says Adonai Elohim, “they would save neither sons nor daughters; only they themselves would be saved, and the land would remain barren.
17 “Or if I bring the sword down on that land, saying, ‘Let the sword pass through the land,’ so that I eliminate both its humans and its animals; 18 even if these three men were in it, as I live,” says Adonai Elohim, “they would save neither sons nor daughters; only they themselves would be saved.
19 “Or if I bring a plague into that land and pour out my fury on it in bloodshed, so that I eliminate both its humans and its animals; 20 even if Noach, Dani’el and Iyov were in it, as I live,” says Adonai Elohim, “they would save neither a son nor a daughter; they would save only themselves by their righteousness.”
21 For here is what Adonai Elohim says: “Even if I inflict my four dreadful judgments on Yerushalayim — sword, famine, wild animals and plagues — to eliminate both its humans and its animals; 22 there will still be left a remnant in it to be brought out, including both sons and daughters. When they come out to you, and you see their way of life and how they act, then you will be consoled over the calamity I have brought upon Yerushalayim, over everything I have done to it. 23 Yes, they will console you when you see their way of life and how they act; and you will understand that it was not without good reason that I did what I did in [Yerushalayim],” says Adonai Elohim.
29 As they were leaving Yericho, a large crowd followed Yeshua. 30 Two blind men sitting by the side of the road heard that he was passing by and shouted, “Son of David! Have pity on us!” 31 The crowd scolded them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord! Son of David! Have pity on us!” 32 Yeshua stopped, called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, open our eyes.” 34 Filled with tenderness, Yeshua touched their eyes; and instantly they received their sight and followed him.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.