Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A song for going up to worship.
120 When I was in trouble, I cried out to the Lord,
and he answered me.
2 O Lord, rescue me from lying lips
and from a deceitful tongue.
3 You deceitful tongue, what can the Lord give you?
What more can he do for you?
4 He will give you a warrior’s sharpened arrows and red-hot coals.
5 How horrible it is to live as a foreigner in Meshech
or to stay in the tents of Kedar.
6 I have lived too long with those who hate peace.
7 I am for peace, but when I talk about it,
they only talk about war.
11 This is what the Lord says about King Josiah’s son Shallum, who succeeded his father as king of Judah and left this place: He will never come back here again. 12 He will die in the place where he was taken captive, and he will never see this land again.
13 “How horrible it will be for the person who builds his house dishonestly
and his upper rooms through injustice.
He makes his neighbors work for nothing
and doesn’t pay them for their work.
14 He says, ‘I will build a large house for myself with big upper rooms.’
He cuts out windows in it,
panels the rooms with cedar,
and paints them red.
15 Do you think you’re a better king than others
because you use more cedar?
Your father ate and drank and did what is fair and right.
Everything went well for him.
16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy.
Everything went well for him.
Isn’t this what it means to know me?” asks the Lord.
17 “But your eyes and your mind are set on nothing but dishonest profits.
You kill innocent people and violently oppress your people.”
Jesus Criticizes Some Jewish Leaders
37 After Jesus spoke, a Pharisee invited him to have lunch at his house. So Jesus accepted the invitation. 38 The Pharisee was surprised to see that Jesus didn’t wash before the meal.
39 The Lord said to him, “You Pharisees clean the outside of cups and dishes. But inside you are full of greed and evil. 40 You fools! Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside too? 41 Give what is inside as a gift to the poor, and then everything will be clean [a] for you.
42 “How horrible it will be for you Pharisees! You give ⌞God⌟ one-tenth of your mint, spices, and every garden herb. But you have ignored justice and the love of God. You should have done these things without ignoring the others.
43 “How horrible it will be for you Pharisees! You love to sit in the front seats in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplaces. 44 How horrible it will be for you! You are like unmarked graves. People walk on them without knowing what they are.”
45 One of the experts in Moses’ Teachings said to him, “Teacher, when you talk this way, you insult us too.”
46 Jesus said, “How horrible it will be for you experts in Moses’ Teachings! You burden people with loads that are hard to carry. But you won’t lift a finger to carry any of these loads.
47 “How horrible it will be for you! You build the monuments for the prophets. But it was your ancestors who murdered them. 48 So you are witnesses and approve of what your ancestors did. They murdered the prophets for whom you build monuments. 49 That’s why the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles. They will murder some of those prophets and apostles and persecute others.’ 50 So the people living now will be charged with the murder of every prophet since the world was made. 51 This includes the murders from Abel to Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the temple. Yes, I can guarantee this truth: The people living today will be held responsible for this.
52 “How horrible it will be for you experts in Moses’ Teachings! You have taken away the key that unlocks knowledge. You haven’t gained entrance into ⌞knowledge⌟ yourselves, and you’ve kept out those who wanted to enter.”
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