Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Protection of the Righteous and the Destruction of the Wicked
Of David.[a]
37 Do not fret because of evildoers;
do not be envious of doers of wickedness.
2 For like the grass they will dry up quickly,
and like green vegetation they will wither.
3 Trust Yahweh and do good.
Abide in the land and feed on faithfulness.[b]
4 Take pleasure in Yahweh as well,
and he will give to you the requests of your heart.
5 Commit to[c] Yahweh your way;
Trust also on him and he will act.
6 Then he will bring forth your righteousness like the light,
and your justice like the noonday.
7 Be quiet before Yahweh and wait for him.
Do not fret about one who succeeds in his way,
about a man making plots.
8 Refrain from anger and forsake wrath.
Do not fret; it only brings evil.
9 For evildoers will be cut off,
but those who wait for Yahweh—
they will possess the land.
10 And[d] yet a little while and the wicked will not be,
and you will look carefully upon his place, but he will not be.
11 But the afflicted will possess the land,
and they will take pleasure in an abundance of peace.
39 And[a] the salvation of the righteous is from Yahweh,
their refuge in the time of trouble.
40 And Yahweh helps them and he rescues them.
He rescues them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
18 But Judah drew near to him and said, “Please my lord, let your servant speak a word in the ears of my lord, and let not your anger burn[a] against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself.[b] 19 My lord had asked his servants, saying, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ 20 And we said to my lord, ‘We have an aged father, and a younger brother, the child of his old age, and his brother died, and he alone remains from his mother, and his father loves him.’ 21 Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me that I may set my eyes upon him.’ 22 Then we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father; if he should leave his father, then he[c] would die.’ 23 Then you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall not again see my face.’ 24 And it happened that we went up to your servant, my father, and told him the words of my lord. 25 And when our father said, ‘Buy a little food for us,’ 26 then we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we shall go down. For we will not be able to see the face of the man unless our youngest brother is with us.’ 27 Then your servant, my father, said to us, ‘You yourselves know that my wife bore two sons to me. 28 One went out from me, and I said, “Surely he must have been torn to pieces,” and I have never seen him since. 29 And if you take this one also from me, and he encounters harm, you will bring down my gray head in sorrow to Sheol.’ 30 So now, when I come to your servant, my father, and the boy is not with us—now his life is bound up with his life— 31 it shall happen that when he sees that the boy is gone, he will die. And your servants will bring down the gray head of your servant, our father, to Sheol with sorrow. 32 For your servant is pledged as surety for the boy by my father, saying, If I do not bring him to you, then I shall be culpable to my father forever. 33 So then, please let your servant remain in place of the boy as a slave to my lord, and let the boy go up with his brothers. 34 For how can I go up to my father if the boy is not with me? I do not want to see[d] the misery which will find my father.”
Settle Accounts Quickly
57 And why do you not also judge for yourselves what is right? 58 For as you are going with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to come to a settlement with him on the way, so that he will not drag you to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the bailiff, and the bailiff will throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid back even the last cent!”[a]
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