Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A psalm by David; to be kept in mind.
38 O Lord, do not angrily punish me
or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Your arrows have struck me.
Your hand has struck me hard.
3 No healthy spot is left on my body
because of your rage.
There is no peace in my bones
because of my sin.
4 My guilt has overwhelmed me.
Like a heavy load, it is more than I can bear.
5 My wounds smell rotten.
They fester because of my stupidity.
6 I am bent over and bowed down very low.
All day I walk around in mourning.
7 My insides are filled with burning pain,
and no healthy spot is left on my body.
8 I am numb and completely devastated.
I roar because my heart’s in turmoil.
9 You know all my desires, O Lord,
and my groaning has not been hidden from you.
10 My heart is pounding.
I have lost my strength.
Even the light of my eyes has left me.
11 My loved ones and my friends keep their distance
and my relatives stand far away because of my sickness.
12 Those who seek my life lay traps for me.
Those who are out to harm me talk about ruining me.
All day long they think of ways to deceive me.
13 But I am like a person who cannot hear
and like a person who cannot speak.
14 I am like one who cannot hear
and who can offer no arguments.
15 But I wait with hope for you, O Lord.
You will answer, O Lord, my God.
16 I said, “Do not let them gloat over me.
When my foot slips,
do not let them promote themselves at my expense.”
17 I am ready to fall.
I am continually aware of my pain.
18 I confess my guilt.
My sin troubles me.
19 My mortal enemies are growing stronger.
Many hate me for no reason.
20 They pay me back with evil instead of good,
and they accuse me because I try to do what is good.
21 Do not abandon me, O Lord.
O my God, do not be so distant from me.
22 Come quickly to help me, O Lord, my savior.
Sins Which Require an Offering for Sin
5 ⌞The Lord continued,⌟ “Now, if you are a witness under oath and won’t tell what you saw or what you know, you are sinning and will be punished.
2 “If you touch anything unclean [a]—the unclean dead body of a wild or tame animal or the body of an unclean, swarming creature—and then ignore what you did, you are unclean and will be guilty.
3 “If you become unclean by touching human uncleanness of any kind and then ignore it (although you know what you did), you will be guilty.
4 “If you hastily take a vow about what you will or will not do (as some people do) and then ignore it (although you know what you said), you will be guilty.
5 “So if you are guilty of any of these sins, you must confess it. 6 Bring your guilt offering to the Lord for the sin you committed. It must be a female sheep or goat as an offering for sin. Then the priest will make peace with the Lord for what you did wrong.
If You Cannot Afford a Sheep
7 “Now, if you cannot afford a sheep, you must bring to the Lord two mourning doves or two pigeons as a guilt offering for the sin you committed. One will be an offering for sin, the other a burnt offering. 8 Bring them to the priest, and he will sacrifice the offering for sin first. He will break the bird’s neck without pulling its head off. 9 He will sprinkle some of the blood from the offering for sin on the side of the altar, and the rest of the blood will be drained at the bottom of the altar. It is an offering for sin. 10 Then, following the proper procedures, he will sacrifice the second bird as a burnt offering. So the priest will make peace with the Lord for what you did wrong.
If You Cannot Afford Two Mourning Doves
11 “But if you cannot afford two mourning doves or two pigeons, then bring eight cups of flour as an offering for the sin you committed. Never put olive oil on it or add incense to it, because it is an offering for sin. 12 Bring it to the priest. The priest will take a handful of it. He will burn it as a reminder on top of the offering by fire to the Lord on the altar. It is an offering for sin. 13 So the priest will make peace with the Lord for what you did wrong, and you will be forgiven. The offering will belong to the priest like the grain offering.”
Causing Others to Lose Faith(A)
17 Jesus told his disciples, “Situations that cause people to lose their faith are certain to arise. But how horrible it will be for the person who causes someone to lose his faith! 2 It would be best for that person to be thrown into the sea with a large stone hung around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to lose his faith. 3 So watch yourselves!
“If a believer sins, correct him. If he changes the way he thinks and acts, forgive him. 4 Even if he wrongs you seven times in one day and comes back to you seven times and says that he is sorry, forgive him.”
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