Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
BOOK 2
Thirsting for God in Trouble and Exile.
For the choir director. A [a]Maskil of the sons of Korah.
42 As the deer [b]pants for the water brooks,
So my soul [c](A)pants for You, O God.
2 My soul (B)thirsts for God, for the (C)living God;
When shall I come and [d](D)appear before God?
3 My (E)tears have been my food day and night,
While they (F)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember and I (G)pour out my soul within me.
For I (H)used to go along with the throng and [e]lead them in procession to the house of God,
With the voice of (I)joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.
5 (J)Why are you [f](K)in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become (L)disturbed within me?
[g](M)Hope in God, for I shall [h]again praise [i]Him
For the [j](N)help of His presence.
6 O my God, my soul is [k]in despair within me;
Therefore I (O)remember You from (P)the land of the Jordan
And the [l]peaks of (Q)Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;
All Your (R)breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.
8 The Lord will (S)command His lovingkindness in the daytime;
And His song will be with me (T)in the night,
A prayer to (U)the God of my life.
9 I will say to God (V)my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go (W)mourning [m]because of the (X)oppression of the enemy?”
10 As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me,
While they (Y)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
11 (Z)Why are you [n]in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
[o]Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him,
The [p]help of my countenance and my God.
Prayer for Deliverance.
43 (A)Vindicate me, O God, and (B)plead my case against an ungodly nation;
[a]O deliver me from (C)the deceitful and unjust man!
2 For You are the (D)God of my strength; why have You (E)rejected me?
Why do I go (F)mourning [b]because of the oppression of the enemy?
3 The (A)integrity of the upright will guide them,
But the (B)crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them.
4 (C)Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
But (D)righteousness delivers from death.
5 The (E)righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way,
But (F)the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver them,
But the treacherous will (G)be caught by their own greed.
7 When a wicked man dies, his (H)expectation will perish,
And the (I)hope of strong men perishes.
8 The righteous is delivered from trouble,
But the wicked [a]takes his place.
9 With his (J)mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor,
But through knowledge the (K)righteous will be delivered.
10 When it (L)goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices,
And when the wicked perish, there is joyful shouting.
11 By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,
But by the mouth of the wicked it is torn down.
12 He who despises his neighbor lacks [b]sense,
But a man of understanding keeps silent.
13 He (M)who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets,
But he who is [c]trustworthy (N)conceals a matter.
27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, (A)Son of David!” 28 When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus *said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They *said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “[a]It shall be done to you (B)according to your faith.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus (C)sternly warned them: “See that no one knows about this!” 31 But they went out and (D)spread the news about Him throughout all that land.
32 As they were going out, (E)a mute, (F)demon-possessed man [b]was brought to Him. 33 After the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “(G)Nothing like this has [c]ever been seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees were saying, “He (H)casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”
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