Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
14 “Human beings have only a few days to live.
Their lives are full of trouble.
2 They grow like flowers, and then they dry up.
They are like shadows that quickly disappear.
3 “God, do you even notice them?
Will you let them appear in your court?
4 Who can bring what is pure from something that isn’t pure?
No one!
5 You decide how long anyone will live.
You have established the number of his months.
You have set a limit to the number of his days.
6 So look away from him. Leave him alone.
Let him put in his time like a hired worker.
7 “At least there is hope for a tree.
If it’s cut down, it will begin to grow again.
New branches will appear on it.
8 Its roots may grow old in the ground.
Its stump may die in the soil.
9 But when it smells water, it will begin to grow.
It will send out new growth like a plant.
10 No man is like that. When he dies, he is buried in a grave.
He takes his last breath. Then he is gone.
11 Water dries up from lakes.
Riverbeds become empty and dry.
12 In the same way, people lie down and never get up.
People won’t wake or rise from their sleep
until the heavens are gone.
13 “I wish you would hide me in a grave!
I wish you would cover me up until your anger passes by!
I wish you would set the time for me to spend in the grave
and then bring me back up!
14 If someone dies, will they live again?
All the days of my hard work
I will wait for the time when you give me new life.
3 I am a man who has suffered greatly.
The Lord has used the Babylonians
to punish my people.
2 He has driven me away. He has made me walk
in darkness instead of light.
3 He has turned his powerful hand against me.
He has done it again and again, all day long.
4 He has worn out my body.
He has broken my bones.
5 He has surrounded me and attacked me.
He has made me suffer bitterly.
He has made things hard for me.
6 He has made me live in darkness
like those who are dead and gone.
7 He has built walls around me, so I can’t escape.
He has put heavy chains on me.
8 I call out and cry for help.
But he won’t listen to me when I pray.
9 He has put up a stone wall to block my way.
He has made my paths crooked.
19 I remember how I suffered and wandered.
I remember how bitter my life was.
20 I remember it very well.
My spirit is very sad deep down inside me.
21 But here is something else I remember.
And it gives me hope.
22 The Lord loves us very much.
So we haven’t been completely destroyed.
His loving concern never fails.
23 His great love is new every morning.
Lord, how faithful you are!
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is everything I will ever need.
So I will put my hope in him.”
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
31 Lord, I have come to you for safety.
Don’t let me ever be put to shame.
Save me, because you do what is right.
2 Pay attention to me.
Come quickly to help me.
Be the rock I go to for safety.
Be the strong fort that saves me.
3 You are my rock and my fort.
Lead me and guide me for the honor of your name.
4 Keep me free from the trap that is set for me.
You are my place of safety.
15 My whole life is in your hands.
Save me from the hands of my enemies.
Save me from those who are chasing me.
16 May you look on me with favor.
Save me because your love is faithful.
Living for God
4 Christ suffered in his body. So prepare yourselves to think in the same way Christ did. Do this because whoever suffers in their body is finished with sin. 2 As a result, they don’t live the rest of their earthly life for evil human desires. Instead, they live to do what God wants. 3 You have spent enough time in the past doing what ungodly people choose to do. You lived a wild life. You longed for evil things. You got drunk. You went to wild parties. You worshiped statues of gods, which the Lord hates. 4 Ungodly people are surprised that you no longer join them in what they do. They want you to join them in their wild and wasteful living. So they say bad things about you. 5 But they will have to explain their actions to God. He is ready to judge those who are alive and those who are dead. 6 That’s why the good news was preached even to people who are now dead. It was preached to them for two reasons. It was preached so that their bodies might be judged. This judgment is made by human standards. But the good news was also preached so that their spirits might live. This life comes by means of God’s power.
7 The end of all things is near. So be watchful and control yourselves. Then you may pray. 8 Most of all, love one another deeply. Love erases many sins by forgiving them.
Jesus Is Buried
57 As evening approached, a rich man came from the town of Arimathea. His name was Joseph. He had become a follower of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. 60 He placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb. Then he went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there across from the tomb.
The Guards at the Tomb
62 The next day was the day after Preparation Day. The chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember something that liar said while he was still alive. He claimed, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order to make the tomb secure until the third day. If you don’t, his disciples might come and steal the body. Then they will tell the people that Jesus has been raised from the dead. This last lie will be worse than the first.”
65 “Take some guards with you,” Pilate answered. “Go. Make the tomb as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure. They put a royal seal on the stone and placed some guards on duty.
Jesus Is Buried
38 Later Joseph asked Pilate for Jesus’ body. Joseph was from the town of Arimathea. He was a follower of Jesus. But he followed Jesus secretly because he was afraid of the Jewish leaders. After Pilate gave him permission, Joseph came and took the body away. 39 Nicodemus went with Joseph. He was the man who had earlier visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought some mixed spices that weighed about 75 pounds. 40 The two men took Jesus’ body. They wrapped it in strips of linen cloth, along with the spices. That was the way the Jews buried people. 41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden. A new tomb was there. No one had ever been put in it before. 42 That day was the Jewish Preparation Day, and the tomb was nearby. So they placed Jesus there.
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