Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
For the choir director; al tashcheth; a psalm by Asaph; a song.
75 We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks.
You are present, and your miracles confirm that.
2 When I choose the right time,
I will judge fairly.
3 When the earth and everyone who lives on it begin to melt,
I will make its foundations as solid as rock. Selah
4 I said to those who brag, “Don’t brag,”
and to wicked people,
“Don’t raise your weapons.
5 Don’t raise your weapons so proudly
or speak so defiantly.”
6 The ⌞authority⌟ to reward someone does not ⌞come⌟
from the east,
from the west,
or ⌞even⌟ from the wilderness.
7 God alone is the judge.
He punishes one person and rewards another.
8 A cup is in the Lord’s hand.
(Its foaming wine is thoroughly mixed with spices.)
He will empty it,
⌞and⌟ all the wicked people on earth
will have to drink every last drop.
9 But I will speak ⌞about your miracles⌟ forever.
I will make music to praise the God of Jacob.
10 I will destroy all the weapons of wicked people,
but the weapons of righteous people will be raised proudly.
Elisha and the Widow’s Olive Oil
4 One of the wives of a disciple of the prophets called to Elisha, “Sir, my husband is dead! You know how he feared the Lord. Now a creditor has come to take my two children as slaves.”
2 Elisha asked her, “What should I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
She answered, “I have nothing in the house except a jar of olive oil.”
3 Elisha said, “Borrow many empty containers from all your neighbors. 4 Then close the door behind you and your children, and pour oil into all those containers. When one is full, set it aside.”
5 So she left him and closed the door behind her and her children. The children kept bringing containers to her, and she kept pouring. 6 When the containers were full, she told her son, “Bring me another container.”
He told her, “There are no more containers.” So the olive oil stopped flowing. 7 She went and told the man of God.
He said, “Sell the oil, and pay your debt. The rest is for you and your children.”
16 “I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. So be as cunning as snakes but as innocent as doves. 17 Watch out for people who will hand you over to the Jewish courts and whip you in their synagogues. 18 Because of me you will even be brought in front of governors and kings to testify to them and to everyone in the world. 19 When they hand you over ⌞to the authorities⌟, don’t worry about what to say or how to say it. When the time comes, you will be given what to say. 20 Indeed, you’re not the ones who will be speaking. The Spirit of your Father will be speaking through you.
21 “Brother will hand over brother to death; a father will hand over his child. Children will rebel against their parents and kill them. 22 Everyone will hate you because you are committed to me. But the person who patiently endures to the end will be saved. 23 So when they persecute you in one city, flee to another. I can guarantee this truth: Before you have gone through every city in Israel, the Son of Man will come.
24 “A student is not better than his teacher. Nor is a slave better than his owner. 25 It is enough for a student to become like his teacher and a slave like his owner. If they have called the owner of the house Beelzebul,[a] they will certainly call the family members the same name.
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