Bible Reading Plans - Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) - NIV (2024)

Psalm 35:1-10

Psalm 35

Of David.

¹Contend,^(A) Lord, with those who contend with me;
fight^(B) against those who fight against me.
²Take up shield^(C) and armor;
arise^(D) and come to my aid.^(E)
3Brandish spear^(F) and javelin^[a](G)
against those who pursue me.
Say to me,
“I am your salvation.^(H)”

⁴May those who seek my life^(I)
be disgraced^(J) and put to shame;^(K)
may those who plot my ruin
be turned back^(L) in dismay.
⁵May they be like chaff^(M) before the wind,
with the angel of the Lord^(N) driving them away;
⁶may their path be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.

⁷Since they hid their net^(O) for me without cause^(P)
and without cause dug a pit^(Q) for me,
⁸may ruin overtake them by surprise—^(R)
may the net they hid entangle them,
may they fall into the pit,^(S) to their ruin.
⁹Then my soul will rejoice^(T) in the Lord
and delight in his salvation.^(U)
10My whole being will exclaim,
“Who is like you,^(V) Lord?
You rescue the poor from those too strong^(W) for them,
the poor and needy^(X) from those who rob them.”

Numbers 22:22-28

²²But God was very angry^(A) when he went, and the angel of the Lord^(B) stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. ²³When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword^(C) in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it^(D) to get it back on the road.

²⁴Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides. ²⁵When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again.

²⁶Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. ²⁷When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry^(E) and beat it with his staff. ²⁸Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth,^(F) and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?^(G)”

1 Corinthians 7:32-40

³²I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs^(A)—how he can please the Lord. ³³But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— ³⁴and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit.^(B) But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. ³⁵I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided^(C) devotion to the Lord.

³⁶If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong^[a] and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning.^(D) They should get married. ³⁷But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing. ³⁸So then, he who marries the virgin does right,^(E) but he who does not marry her does better.^[b]

³⁹A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives.^(F) But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord.^{(G) 40}In my judgment,^(H) she is happier if she stays as she is—and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.