Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 39[a]
For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of David.
39 I decided,[b] “I will watch what I say
and make sure I do not sin with my tongue.[c]
I will put a muzzle over my mouth
while in the presence of an evil person.”[d]
2 I was stone silent;[e]
I held back the urge to speak.[f]
My frustration grew;[g]
3 my anxiety intensified.[h]
As I thought about it, I became impatient.[i]
Finally I spoke these words:[j]
4 “O Lord, help me understand my mortality
and the brevity of life.[k]
Let me realize how quickly my life will pass.[l]
5 Look, you make my days short-lived,[m]
and my life span is nothing from your perspective.[n]
Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor.[o] (Selah)
6 Surely people go through life as mere ghosts.[p]
Surely they accumulate worthless wealth
without knowing who will eventually haul it away.”[q]
7 But now, O Lord, upon what am I relying?
You are my only hope![r]
8 Deliver me from all my sins of rebellion.
Do not make me the object of fools’ insults.
9 I am silent and cannot open my mouth
because of what you have done.[s]
10 Please stop wounding me.[t]
You have almost beaten me to death.[u]
11 You severely discipline people for their sins;[v]
like a moth you slowly devour their strength.[w]
Surely all people are a mere vapor. (Selah)
12 Hear my prayer, O Lord.
Listen to my cry for help.
Do not ignore my sobbing.[x]
For I am a resident foreigner with you,
a temporary settler,[y] just as all my ancestors were.
13 Turn your angry gaze away from me, so I can be happy
before I pass away.[z]
A Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine
17 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, offer a riddle,[a] and tell a parable to the house of Israel. 3 Say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:[b]
“‘A great eagle[c] with broad wings, long feathers,[d]
with full plumage that was multi-hued,[e]
came to Lebanon[f] and took the top of the cedar.
4 He plucked off its topmost shoot;
he brought it to a land of merchants
and planted it in a city of traders.
5 He took one of the seedlings[g] of the land,
placed it in a cultivated plot;[h]
a shoot by abundant water,
like a willow he planted it.
6 It sprouted and became a vine,
spreading low to the ground;[i]
its branches turning toward him,[j] its roots were under itself.[k]
So it became a vine; it produced shoots and sent out branches.
7 “‘There was another great eagle[l]
with broad wings and thick plumage.
Now this vine twisted its roots toward him
and sent its branches toward him
to be watered from the soil where it was planted.
8 In a good field, by abundant waters, it was planted
to grow branches, bear fruit, and become a beautiful vine.’
9 “Say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘Will it prosper?
Will he not rip out its roots
and cause its fruit to rot[m] and wither?
All its foliage[n] will wither.
No strong arm or large army
will be needed to pull it out by its roots.[o]
10 Consider! It is planted, but will it prosper?
Will it not wither completely when the east wind blows on it?
Will it not wither in the soil where it sprouted?’”
12 For all who have sinned apart from the law[a] will also perish apart from the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous before God, but those who do the law will be declared righteous.[b] 14 For whenever the Gentiles,[c] who do not have the law, do by nature[d] the things required by the law,[e] these who do not have the law are a law to themselves. 15 They[f] show that the work of the law is written[g] in their hearts, as their conscience bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or else defend[h] them,[i] 16 on the day when God will judge[j] the secrets of human hearts,[k] according to my gospel[l] through Christ Jesus.
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