Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer for Recovery from Grave Illness
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
6 O Lord, rebuke me not in thy anger,
nor chasten me in thy wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled.
3 My soul also is sorely troubled.
But thou, O Lord—how long?
4 Turn, O Lord, save my life;
deliver me for the sake of thy steadfast love.
5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee;
in Sheol who can give thee praise?
6 I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
7 My eye wastes away because of grief,
it grows weak because of all my foes.
8 Depart from me, all you workers of evil;
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my supplication;
the Lord accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and sorely troubled;
they shall turn back, and be put to shame in a moment.
15 Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him; and he said, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel;[a] so accept now a present from your servant.” 16 But he said, “As the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will receive none.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused. 17 Then Na′aman said, “If not, I pray you, let there be given to your servant two mules’ burden of earth; for henceforth your servant will not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god but the Lord. 18 In this matter may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon your servant in this matter.” 19 He said to him, “Go in peace.”
Gehazi’s Greed
But when Na′aman had gone from him a short distance,
The Riot in Ephesus
21 Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedo′nia and Acha′ia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 22 And having sent into Macedo′nia two of his helpers, Timothy and Eras′tus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.
23 About that time there arose no little stir concerning the Way. 24 For a man named Deme′trius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Ar′temis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. 25 These he gathered together, with the workmen of like occupation, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 26 And you see and hear that not only at Ephesus but almost throughout all Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable company of people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Ar′temis may count for nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.