Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

David wrote this psalm for the music leader.

It was when the prophet Nathan came to him, after David had sex with Bathsheba.

Please forgive me, Lord^[a]

The Midianites give Israel trouble

6 The Israelites did things that the Lord saw were evil. So the Lord put them under the power of the Midianites for seven years. ² They used their power to be cruel to the Israelites. The Israelites built huts in the hills to live in. They hid themselves in caves and other safe places. ³ When they planted seeds to grow food, their enemies would attack them. The Midianites, Amalekites and people from the east would come to rob them. ⁴ They made their camps on Israel's land. They took all their crops, as far south as Gaza. They left nothing for the Israelites to eat. They took away their sheep, cows and donkeys. ⁵ The groups of enemies came with their animals. They put up their tents all across the land. They came like a cloud of locusts. They were too many to count as they arrived on their camels. They took everything that grew on the land. ⁶ Because of the Midianites, the Israelites became poor and weak. So they called out to the Lord for help.

⁷ When the Israelites asked the Lord to rescue them from the Midianites, ⁸ he sent a prophet to them. The prophet said to them, ‘This is what the Lord, Israel's God, says: “I brought you out of Egypt, where you were slaves. ⁹ I saved you from the power of the Egyptians and all those who were cruel to you. I chased away your enemies and I gave their land to you. ¹⁰ I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God. You are now living in the land of the Amorites, but you must not worship their gods.’ But you have not obeyed me.” ’

Jesus talks about the Pharisees and the Sadducees

⁵ Jesus and his disciples sailed over to the other side of the lake. His disciples forgot to take any bread with them. ⁶ Jesus said to them, ‘Be careful! Do not accept the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.’

⁷ The disciples began to talk to each other about this. ‘Jesus is saying this because we did not bring any bread with us,’ they said.

⁸ Jesus knew what they were talking about. So he said to them, ‘You should not be arguing with each other about the bread. You should trust me more than you do. ⁹ You still do not understand. You should remember that I used five loaves of bread to feed 5,000 men. Think about how many baskets you filled with pieces of food after the meal. ¹⁰ Also remember that I used seven loaves of bread to give food to 4,000 men. And think about how many baskets you filled with pieces of food then. ¹¹ I spoke to you about the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. I said that you must not accept it. You should understand now that I was not speaking about bread.’

¹² Then the disciples understood what Jesus was talking about. They did not need to be careful about the yeast that they used in their bread. Instead, they must be careful about what the Pharisees and Sadducees were teaching. They must not accept it.^[a]