Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
8 He who sows injustice will reap calamity,
and the rod of his anger will fail.
9 He who is generous[a] will be blessed,
for he gives to the poor from his own bread.
22 Do not rob the poor because he is poor,
and do not crush the afflicted at the gate;
23 For Yahweh will plead their case
and despoil those who despoil them of life.[a]
Confidence in Yahweh’s Protection
A song of ascents.[a]
125 Those who trust in Yahweh
are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved,
but abides forever.
2 As mountains are round about Jerusalem,
so Yahweh is round about his people,
from now until forever.
3 For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
on the land[b] of the righteous,
lest the righteous stretch out
their hands to do wickedness.[c]
4 Do good, O Yahweh, to the good,
and to those upright in their hearts.
5 But regarding those who turn aside to their crooked ways,
Yahweh will lead them away with the evildoers.
Peace be upon Israel.
Partiality Forbidden
2 My brothers, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with partiality. 2 For if someone[a] enters into your assembly[b] in fine clothing with a gold ring on his finger, and a poor person in filthy clothing also enters, 3 and you look favorably on the one wearing the fine clothing and you say, “Be seated here in a good place,” and to the poor person you say, “You stand or be seated there[c] by my footstool,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my dear brothers! Did not God choose the poor of the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor! Are not the rich exploiting you and they themselves dragging you into the courts? 7 Do they themselves not blaspheme the good name of the one to whom you belong[d]?
8 However, if you carry out the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,”[e] you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and thus[f] are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles in one point only has become guilty of all of it.
11 For the one who said “Do not commit adultery”[a] also said “Do not murder.”[b] Now if you do not commit adultery but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 Thus speak and thus act as those who are going to be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is merciless to the one who has not practiced mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Faith and Works
14 What is the benefit, my brothers, if someone says that he has faith but does not have works? That faith is not able to save him, is it?[a] 15 If a brother or a sister is poorly clothed and lacking food for the day, 16 and one of you should say to them, “Go in peace, keep warm and eat well[b],” but does not give them what is necessary for the body, what is the benefit? 17 Thus also faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.
A Syrophoenician Woman’s Great Faith
24 And from there he set out and[a] went to the region of Tyre. And when he[b] entered into a house, he wanted no one to know, and yet he was not able to escape notice. 25 But immediately a woman whose young daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, when she[c] heard about him, came and[d] fell down at his feet, 26 Now the woman was a Greek—a Syrophoenician by nationality—and she was asking him that he would expel the demon from her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it[e] to the dogs!” 28 But she answered and said to him, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “Because of this statement, go! The demon has gone out of your daughter.” 30 And when she[f] went to her home, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon gone.
A Man Deaf and Unable to Speak Healed
31 And again he went away from the region of Tyre and[g] came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of the Decapolis. 32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had difficulty speaking, and they were imploring him that he would place his[h] hand on him. 33 And he took him away from the crowd by himself and[i] put his fingers into his ears, and after[j] spitting, he touched his tongue. 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”). 35 And[k] his ears were opened and his difficulty in speaking was removed[l] and he began to speak normally. 36 And he ordered them that they should say nothing, but as much as he ordered them not to, they proclaimed it[m] even more instead. 37 And they were amazed beyond all measure, saying, “He has done all things well! He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak!”
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software