11. Do not withhold your mercy
from me, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me.
12. For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me,
and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart
fails within me.
1. Now when he saw the crowds,
he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,
2. and he began to teach them, saying:
3. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.
4. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they
will be filled.
7. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
9. To some who were confident
of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told
this parable:
10. "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the
other a tax collector.
11. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: `God, I thank you
that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even
like this tax collector.
12. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
13. "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even
look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, `God, have mercy on me,
a sinner.'
14. "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified
before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who
humbles himself will be exalted."