Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
14 Anyone born of woman
is short of days and full of trouble.(A)
2 He blossoms like a flower, then withers;(B)
he flees like a shadow and does not last.
3 Do you really take notice of one like this?
Will you bring me into judgment against you?[a](C)
4 Who can produce something pure from what is impure?
No one!
5 Since a person’s days are determined
and the number of his months depends on you,
and since you have set[b] limits he cannot pass,(D)
6 look away from him and let him rest
so that he can enjoy his day like a hired worker.(E)
7 There is hope for a tree:
If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
and its shoots will not die.
8 If its roots grow old in the ground
and its stump starts to die in the soil,
9 the scent of water makes it thrive
and produce twigs like a sapling.(F)
10 But a person dies and fades away;
he breathes his last—where is he?
11 As water disappears from a lake
and a river becomes parched and dry,
12 so people lie down never to rise again.
They will not wake up until the heavens are no more;(G)
they will not stir from their sleep.
Hope through God’s Mercy
א Aleph
3 I am the man who has seen affliction
under the rod of God’s wrath.
2 He has driven me away and forced me to walk
in darkness instead of light.(A)
3 Yes, he repeatedly turns his hand
against me all day long.
ב Beth
4 He has worn away my flesh and skin;(B)
he has broken my bones.(C)
5 He has laid siege against me,(D)
encircling me with bitterness and hardship.(E)
6 He has made me dwell in darkness
like those who have been dead for ages.(F)
ג Gimel
Psalm 31
A Plea for Protection
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 Lord, I seek refuge in you;
let me never be disgraced.(A)
Save me by your righteousness.
2 Listen closely to me; rescue me quickly.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a mountain fortress to save me.(B)
3 For you are my rock and my fortress;(C)
you lead and guide me
for your name’s sake.(D)
4 You will free me from the net
that is secretly set for me,
for you are my refuge.(E)
Following Christ
4 Therefore, since Christ suffered[a] in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same understanding[b]—because the one who suffers in the flesh is finished(A) with sin[c]— 2 in order to live the remaining time in the flesh no longer for human desires, but for God’s will.(B) 3 For there has already been enough time spent in doing what the Gentiles choose to do: carrying on in unrestrained behavior, evil desires,(C) drunkenness, orgies,(D) carousing, and lawless idolatry. 4 They are surprised that you don’t join them in the same flood of wild living—and they slander[d] you. 5 They will give an account to the one who stands ready to judge the living and the dead.(E) 6 For this reason the gospel was also preached to those who are now dead,[e](F) so that, although they might be judged in the flesh according to human standards,(G) they might live(H) in the spirit according to God’s standards.
End-Time Ethics
7 The end of all things is near;(I) therefore, be alert and sober-minded(J) for prayer. 8 Above all, maintain constant love(K) for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins.[f](L)
The Burial of Jesus
57 When it was evening,(A) a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph came, who himself had also become a disciple(B) of Jesus. 58 He approached Pilate and asked for Jesus’s body. Then Pilate ordered that it[a] be released. 59 So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in clean, fine linen, 60 and placed it in his new tomb, which he had cut into the rock. He left after rolling a great stone against the entrance of the tomb.(C) 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were seated there, facing the tomb.
The Closely Guarded Tomb
62 The next day, which followed the preparation day, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate(D) 63 and said, “Sir, we remember that while this deceiver was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’(E) 64 So give orders that the tomb be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples(F) may come, steal him, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.”
65 “Take[b] guards,” Pilate told them. “Go and make it as secure as you know how.” 66 They went and secured the tomb by setting a seal on the stone and placing the guards.(G)
Jesus’s Burial
38 After(A) this, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus—but secretly because of his fear of the Jews—asked Pilate that he might remove Jesus’s body.(B) Pilate gave him permission; so he came and took his body away. 39 Nicodemus(C) (who had previously come to him at night) also came, bringing a mixture of about seventy-five pounds[a] of myrrh and aloes. 40 They took Jesus’s body(D) and wrapped it in linen cloths(E) with the fragrant spices, according to the burial(F) custom of the Jews. 41 There was a garden in the place where he was crucified. A new tomb was in the garden; no one had yet been placed in it. 42 They placed Jesus there because of the Jewish day of preparation and since the tomb was nearby.
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