Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Pleading for Help and Grateful Trust in God.
For the music director; according to [a]Jonath elem rehokim. A [b]Mikhtam of David, [c]when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
56 Be gracious to me, God, for a man has [d](A)trampled upon me;
[e]Fighting all day long he (B)oppresses me.
2 My enemies have (C)trampled upon me all day long,
For [f]they are many who (D)fight proudly against me.
3 [g]When I am (E)afraid,
[h]I will (F)put my trust in You.
4 (G)In God, whose word I praise,
In God I have put my trust;
I shall not be afraid.
(H)What can mere [i]mortals do to me?
5 All day long they (I)distort my words;
All their [j](J)thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They [k](K)attack, they lurk,
They (L)watch my [l]steps,
As they have (M)waited to take my [m]life.
7 Because of their wickedness, will there be an (N)escape for them?
In anger (O)make the peoples fall down, God!
8 You (P)have taken account of my [n]miseries;
Put my (Q)tears in Your bottle.
Are they not in (R)Your book?
9 Then my enemies will (S)turn back (T)on the day when I call;
This I know, [o]that (U)God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
In the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 In God I have put my [p]trust, I shall not be afraid.
What can mankind do to me?
12 Your (V)vows are binding upon me, God;
I will render thanksgiving offerings to You.
13 For You have (W)saved my soul from death,
[q]Indeed (X)my feet from stumbling,
So that I may (Y)walk before God
In the (Z)light of the [r]living.
Naaman Is Healed
5 Now (A)Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man [a]in the view of his master, and eminent, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man was also a valiant warrior, but afflicted with leprosy. 2 Now the Arameans had gone out (B)in bands and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she [b]waited on Naaman’s wife. 3 And she said to her mistress, “If only my master were [c]with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy.” 4 And [d]Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “The girl who is from the land of Israel spoke such and such.” 5 Then the king of Aram said, “Go [e]now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he departed and (C)took with him ten [f]talents of silver, six thousand [g]shekels of gold, and ten (D)changes of clothes.
6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, [h]which said, “And now as this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, so that you may cure him of his leprosy.” 7 But when the king of Israel read the letter, (E)he tore his clothes and said, “(F)Am I God, to kill and to keep alive, that this man is sending word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? But (G)consider now, and see how he is seeking [i]a quarrel against me.”
8 Now it happened, when Elisha (H)the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent word to the king, saying, “Why did you tear your clothes? Just have him come to me, and he shall learn that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots, and stood at the doorway of Elisha’s house. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “(I)Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.” 11 But Naaman was furious and went away, and he said, “Behold, I [j]thought, ‘He will certainly come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the site and cure the [k]leprosy.’ 12 Are [l]Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, not better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and (J)went away in a rage. 13 (K)Then his servants approached and spoke to him, [m]saying, “(L)My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 14 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, in accordance with the word of the man of God; and (M)his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and (N)he was clean.
13 Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue is to pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unproductive. 15 (A)What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I will (B)sing with the spirit, but I will sing with the mind also. 16 For otherwise, if you bless God [a]in the spirit only, how will the one who occupies the place of the [b]outsider know to say (C)the “Amen” at your (D)giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you are saying? 17 For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not (E)edified. 18 I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all; 19 nevertheless, in church I prefer to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.
Instruction for the Church
20 (F)Brothers and sisters, (G)do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil (H)be infants, but in your thinking be mature. 21 In (I)the [c]Law it is written: “(J)By men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people, and even so they will not listen to Me,” says the Lord. 22 So then, tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but (K)prophecy is not for unbelievers, but for those who believe. 23 Therefore if the whole church gathers together and all the people speak in tongues, and [d]outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that (L)you are insane? 24 But if all (M)prophesy, and an unbeliever or an [e]outsider enters, he is (N)convicted by all, he is called to account by all; 25 (O)the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will (P)fall on his face and worship God, (Q)declaring that God is certainly among you.
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