Psalm 23 (revised for reading in unison with plural pronouns)
A psalm of David.
The Lord is our shepherd, we lack nothing.
He makes us lie down in green pastures,
he leads us beside quiet waters,
he refreshes our souls.
He guides us along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though we walk
through the darkest valley,
we will fear no evil,
for you are with us;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort us.
You prepare a table before us
in the presence of our enemies.
You anoint our heads with oil;
our cups overflow.
Surely your goodness and love will follow us
all the days of our lives,
and we will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Matthew 8:1–13
When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”
Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”
The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.
New International Version (NIV)
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