Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 86[a]
Prayer in Time of Distress
1 A prayer of David.
I
Incline your ear, Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and oppressed.
2 Preserve my life, for I am devoted;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; 3 be gracious to me, Lord;
to you I call all the day.
4 Gladden the soul of your servant;
to you, Lord, I lift up my soul.(A)
5 Lord, you are good and forgiving,
most merciful to all who call on you.(B)
6 Lord, hear my prayer;
listen to my cry for help.(C)
7 On the day of my distress I call to you,
for you will answer me.
II
3 Say to him: Thus says the Lord God:
Pay attention! I am against you,
Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
Great dragon[a] crouching
in the midst of the Nile,
Who says, “The Nile belongs to me;
I made it myself!”(A)
4 [b]I will put hooks in your jaws
and make all the fish of your Nile
Cling to your scales;
I will drag you up from your Nile,
With all the fish of your Nile
clinging to your scales.(B)
5 I will hurl you into the wilderness,
you and all the fish of your Nile.
You will fall into an open field,
you will not be picked up or gathered together.
To the beasts of the earth
and the birds of the sky
I give you as food.(C)
6 (D)Then all the inhabitants of Egypt
will know that I am the Lord.
Because you were a staff of reeds[c]
for the house of Israel:
7 When they took hold of you, you would splinter,
throwing shoulders out of joint.
When they leaned on you, you would break,
pitching them down headlong.
53 When he left, the scribes and Pharisees began to act with hostility toward him and to interrogate him about many things,(A) 54 for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.(B)
Chapter 12
The Leaven of the Pharisees.[a] 1 Meanwhile, so many people were crowding together that they were trampling one another underfoot.(C) He began to speak, first to his disciples, “Beware of the leaven—that is, the hypocrisy—of the Pharisees.
Courage Under Persecution.[b] 2 (D)“There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.(E) 3 Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.