Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 10[a]
Prayer for Help against Oppressors
1 Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you remain hidden in times of trouble?
2 In his arrogance the wicked hunts down the poor;
let him be ensnared by the schemes he has devised.
3 The wicked boasts of his wicked desires;
he upholds the greedy and renounces the Lord.
4 Filled with arrogance, he does not seek God,
but thinks, “God does not exist.”[b]
5 The wicked always seems to prosper;
your judgments are far from his mind,
and he scoffs at all those who oppose him.
6 He says in his heart,[c] “I will not be swayed;
I will never experience misfortune.”
7 His mouth is filled with curses, deceit, and threats;[d]
his tongue breeds evil and malice.
8 He lies in wait near the villages,
and from ambush he slays the innocent;
his eyes are on the watch for the helpless.
9 He lies in wait like a lurking lion,
ready to strike the helpless;
he snares his victims,
seizing them in his net.
10 He crouches and lies low,
and the poor are overwhelmed by his might.
11 He thinks in his heart,
“God has forgotten;
he hides his face and will never see what is happening.”
12 Arise, O Lord! Lift up your hand, O God!
Do not forget the afflicted.
13 Why should the wicked reject God
and say in his heart,
“He will not call me to account”?
14 But you note our troubles and our grief
so that you may resolve our difficulties.
The helpless entrusts himself to you;
you are the recourse of the fatherless.
15 Break the arms of the sinner and the evildoer;
seek out the wicked
until no more endure.[e]
16 [f]The Lord is King forever and ever;
the heathen will disappear from his land.
17 You listen, O Lord, to the longings of the poor;
you strengthen their courage and heed their prayers.
18 You ensure justice for the fatherless and the oppressed
so that no one on earth may fill them with terror.
27 When you speak all these words to them, they will not listen to you. When you call out to them, they will not answer you. 28 Then you are to say to them: This is the nation that did not obey the Lord, their God, or accept correction. Truth has perished. It no longer issues forth from their mouths.
29 [a]Cut off your hair and cast it away;
raise a lamentation on the barren heights.
For the Lord has rejected and abandoned
the generation that has provoked his wrath.
30 The people of Judah have perpetrated deeds that are evil in my sight, says the Lord. They have defiled the house that bears my name by setting up within it their loathsome idols. 31 Furthermore, they have built the high places of Topheth[b] in the Valley of Ben-hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire—a deed that I never ordered and that never even entered my mind.
32 Therefore, beware, for the days are coming, says the Lord, when the names of Topheth and the Valley of Ben-hinnom will no longer be used. They will rather be referred to as the Valley of Slaughter. Because of a scarcity of space, Topheth will become a burial ground. 33 The corpses of this people will serve as food for the birds of the sky and the animals of the earth, and no one will frighten them away. 34 In the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem I will banish all sounds of joy and gladness and the voices of the bridegroom and bride, for the entire land will have become a desert.
A Man with a Withered Hand. 6 On another Sabbath, Jesus entered the synagogue and began to teach. A man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 The scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely to see whether he would cure him on the Sabbath so that they would have a charge to bring against him.
8 But Jesus was fully aware of their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here and stand before us.” The man got up and stood there. 9 Then Jesus said to them, “I put this question to you: Is it lawful to do good or to do evil on the Sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 After looking around at all of them, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was restored. 11 But they were filled with fury and discussed among themselves what they might do with Jesus.
Copyright © 2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.