Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
5 Your (A)mercy, Lord, [a]extends to the heavens,
Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
6 Your (B)righteousness is like the [b]mountains of God;
Your (C)judgments are like the great deep.
Lord, You [c](D)protect mankind and animals.
7 How (E)precious is Your mercy, God!
And the sons of mankind (F)take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
8 They (G)drink their fill of the [d]abundance of Your house;
And You allow them to drink from the (H)river of Your delights.
9 For the (I)fountain of life is with You;
In Your light we see light.
Judah Threatened with Invasion
4 “If you will (A)return, Israel,” declares the Lord,
“Then you should return to Me.
And (B)if you will put away your detestable things from My presence,
And will not waver,
2 And if you will (C)swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’
(D)In truth, in justice, and in righteousness;
Then the (E)nations will bless themselves in Him,
And (F)in Him they will boast.”
3 For this is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem:
“[a](G)Break up your uncultivated ground,
And (H)do not sow among thorns.
4 (I)Circumcise yourselves to the Lord
And remove the foreskins of your hearts,
Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Or else My (J)wrath will spread like fire
And burn with (K)no one to quench it,
Because of the evil of your deeds.”
Pharisees’ Blasphemy
14 (A)And He was casting out a mute demon; when the demon had gone out, the man who was previously unable to speak talked, and the crowds were amazed. 15 But some of them said, “He casts out the demons (B)by (C)Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” 16 Others, [a]to test Him, (D)were demanding of Him a [b]sign from heaven. 17 (E)But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against [c]itself falls. 18 And if (F)Satan also has been divided against himself, how will his kingdom [d]stand? For you claim that I cast out the demons by (G)Beelzebul. 19 Yet if by (H)Beelzebul I cast out the demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. 20 But if I cast out the demons by [e]the (I)finger of God, then (J)the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When [f]a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are [g]secure. 22 But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, that man takes away his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder. 23 (K)The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.
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