Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
This is a psalm that Asaph wrote.
God has helped me to understand[a]
73 God is truly good to the people of Israel,
to people who want to serve him honestly.
2 But this is what happened to me:
I nearly slipped and fell over.
I could no longer stand properly.
3 When I saw that wicked people had plenty of things,
I was jealous of those proud people.
4 Their bodies are fat and strong,
and they feel no pain in their lives.
5 They do not have trouble like other people.
They seem to have no problems.
6 Their pride is like their necklace.
They like to be cruel,
as they like to wear clothes.
7 Their greedy eyes lead them into sin.
Their minds think of evil things to do.
8 They laugh at people
and they say bad things about them.
They proudly speak about cruel things
that they want to do to people.
9 They think that they rule in heaven,
as well as on the earth!
10 As a result, God's people become confused,
and they listen to them.
They think that everything is true
that those wicked people say.[b]
11 They say, ‘Does God really know what we do?
Does the Most High God know everything?’
12 Take a good look,
and see how wicked those people are!
They have no troubles,
and they become richer and richer.
13 I decided that I had tried to do what is right,
but it did not help me at all!
I had refused to do anything wrong,
for no good reason!
14 I had trouble each and every day.
Punishment came to me every morning!
15 If I had spoken aloud things like that,
I would have turned against your own people.
16 When I thought about all this,
it was so hard for me to understand.
17 But I went into your temple, God.
Then I understood what would happen
to wicked people in the end.
18 Yes, I realized that they are in a dangerous place,
where they will easily slip.
You will cause them to fall down to their death.
19 It will take just a moment to destroy them!
Great fear will sweep them away!
20 They will completely disappear,
like a dream disappears after you wake up.
Lord, when you decide to do something,
you will forget that they were there!
14 Every wise woman makes her home strong.
But a foolish woman destroys her home with her own hands.
2 An honest person respects and obeys the Lord.
But anyone who deceives other people shows that he does not respect the Lord.
3 When fools boast, they bring punishment on themselves.
But the words of wise people keep them safe.
4 When a farmer has no oxen to plough his fields,
he does not have to feed them.
But he needs strong oxen to grow plenty of crops.
5 A faithful person will not tell lies in court.
But someone who says false things, always deceives.
6 If you only pretend that you want wisdom, you will not find it.
But if you are careful, you will easily understand what is right.
7 Stay away from foolish people.
They will stop you from learning anything that is wise.
8 A careful person understands what is right and he does it.
But a foolish person's silly thoughts deceive him.
9 Fools think that they do not need to do anything about their sins.
But God is pleased with people who do what is right.
Jesus makes a boy well
14 Then Jesus, and the three disciples reached the place where the crowd was. A man came to Jesus. He went down on his knees in front of him. 15 He said to Jesus, ‘Please sir, be kind to my son. He cannot control his body. Sometimes he does not know what he is doing. Often he falls into the fire, or he falls into water. 16 I brought the boy to your disciples, but they could not make him well.’
17 Jesus replied, ‘You people today still do not believe in God. You have turned away from him. I have been with you for a long time and still you do not believe. It is difficult for me to be patient with you.’ Then Jesus said to the man, ‘Bring the boy here to me.’ 18 Jesus said to the bad spirit, ‘Stop!’ Then the bad spirit left the boy and immediately he became well again.
19 When the disciples were alone with Jesus, they asked him, ‘Why could we not make the bad spirit leave the boy?’
20 Jesus replied, ‘You could not do it because you do not trust God very much. I tell you this: You may believe in God only a little bit, like a very small seed. Even then, you could say to this mountain, “Go away from this place and move to that other place.” Then it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you to do.’[a] [21 Jesus then said, ‘This kind of spirit will not leave a person unless you pray and you do not eat for a time.’][b]
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