Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 38
Prayer of a Suffering Sinner
A psalm of David to bring remembrance.(A)
1 Lord, do not punish me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.(B)
2 For your arrows have sunk into me,
and your hand has pressed down on me.(C)
3 There is no soundness in my body
because of your indignation;
there is no health[a] in my bones
because of my sin.(D)
4 For my iniquities have flooded over my head;
they are a burden too heavy for me to bear.(E)
5 My wounds are foul and festering
because of my foolishness.(F)
6 I am bent over and brought very low;
all day long I go around in mourning.(G)
7 For my insides are full of burning pain,
and there is no soundness in my body.(H)
8 I am faint and severely crushed;
I groan because of the anguish of my heart.(I)
9 Lord, my every desire is in front of you;
my sighing is not hidden from you.(J)
10 My heart races, my strength leaves me,
and even the light of my eyes has faded.[b](K)
11 My loved ones and friends stand back from my affliction,
and my relatives stand at a distance.(L)
12 Those who intend to kill me set traps,
and those who want to harm me threaten to destroy me;
they plot treachery all day long.(M)
13 I am like a deaf person; I do not hear.
I am like a speechless person
who does not open his mouth.(N)
14 I am like a man who does not hear
and has no arguments in his mouth.(O)
15 For I put my hope in you, Lord;
you will answer me, my Lord, my God.(P)
16 For I said, “Don’t let them rejoice over me—
those who are arrogant toward me when I stumble.”(Q)
17 For I am about to fall,
and my pain is constantly with me.(R)
18 So I confess my iniquity;
I am anxious because of my sin.(S)
19 But my enemies are vigorous and powerful;[c]
many hate me for no reason.(T)
20 Those who repay evil for good
attack me for pursuing good.(U)
Cases Requiring Sin Offerings
5 “When someone sins in any of these ways:
If he has seen, heard, or known about something he has witnessed, and did not respond to a public call to testify, he will bear his iniquity.(A)
2 Or if someone touches anything unclean(B)—a carcass of an unclean wild animal,(C) or unclean livestock, or an unclean swarming creature(D)—without being aware of it, he is unclean and incurs guilt.(E)
3 Or if he touches human uncleanness(F)—any uncleanness by which one can become defiled(G)—without being aware of it, but later recognizes it, he incurs guilt.
4 Or if someone swears rashly(H) to do what is good or evil—concerning anything a person may speak rashly in an oath—without being aware of it, but later recognizes it, he incurs guilt in such an instance.
5 If someone incurs guilt in one of these cases, he is to confess(I) he has committed that sin. 6 He must bring his penalty for guilt(J) for the sin he has committed to the Lord: a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement(K) on his behalf for his sin.
7 “But if he cannot afford an animal from the flock, then he may bring to the Lord two turtledoves or two young pigeons(L) as penalty for guilt for his sin—one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. 8 He is to bring them to the priest, who will first present the one for the sin offering. He is to twist its head at the back of the neck without severing it.(M) 9 Then he will sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood is to be drained out at the base of the altar;(N) it is a sin offering. 10 He will prepare the second bird as a burnt offering according to the regulation.(O) In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.
11 “But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two young pigeons,(P) he may bring two quarts[a] of fine flour[b](Q) as an offering for his sin. He must not put olive oil or frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering. 12 He is to bring it to the priest, who will take a handful from it as its memorial portion(R) and burn it on the altar along with the food offerings to the Lord; it is a sin offering. 13 In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf concerning the sin he has committed in any of these cases, and he will be forgiven. The rest will belong to the priest, like the grain offering.”(S)
Warnings from Jesus
17 He(A) said to his disciples, “Offenses will certainly come,[a] but woe(B) to the one through whom they come!(C) 2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to stumble.(D) 3 Be(E) on your guard. If your brother sins,[b] rebuke(F) him, and if he repents, forgive(G) him. 4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and comes back to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
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