Weekly Readings

Praise the Lord, my soul!

Praise his holy name, all that is within me.

2 Praise the Lord, my soul,

and never forget all the good he has done:

3 He is the one who forgives all your sins,

the one who heals all your diseases,

4 the one who rescues your life from the pit,

the one who crowns you with mercy and compassion,

5 the one who fills your life with blessings

so that you become young again like an eagle.

6 The Lord does what is right and fair

for all who are oppressed.

7 He let Moses know his ways.

He let the Israelites know the things he had done.

8 The Lord is compassionate, merciful, patient,

and always ready to forgive.

9 He will not always accuse us of wrong

or be angry with us forever.

10 He has not treated us as we deserve for our sins

or paid us back for our wrongs.

11 As high as the heavens are above the earth—

that is how vast his mercy is toward those who fear him.

12 As far as the east is from the west—

that is how far he has removed our rebellious acts from himself.

13 As a father has compassion for his children,

so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.

12 As holy people whom God has chosen and loved, be sympathetic, kind, humble, gentle, and patient. 13 Put up with each other, and forgive each other if anyone has a complaint. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked him, “Lord, how often do I have to forgive a believer who wrongs me? Seven times?”

22 Jesus answered him, “I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy times seven.

23 “That is why the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to do this, a servant who owed him millions of dollars was brought to him. 25 Because he could not pay off the debt, the master ordered him, his wife, his children, and all that he had to be sold to pay off the account. 26 Then the servant fell at his master’s feet and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay everything!’

27 “The master felt sorry for his servant, freed him, and canceled his debt. 28 But when that servant went away, he found a servant who owed him hundreds of dollars. He grabbed the servant he found and began to choke him. ‘Pay what you owe!’ he said.

29 “Then that other servant fell at his feet and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you.’ 30 But he refused. Instead, he turned away and had that servant put into prison until he would repay what he owed.

31 “The other servants who worked with him saw what had happened and felt very sad. They told their master the whole story.

32 “Then his master sent for him and said to him, ‘You evil servant! I canceled your entire debt, because you begged me. 33 Shouldn’t you have treated the other servant as mercifully as I treated you?’

34 “His master was so angry that he handed him over to the torturers until he would repay everything that he owed. 35 That is what my Father in heaven will do to you if each of you does not sincerely forgive other believers.”