Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Torah Is a Tree of Wisdom
Psalm 1
1 Happy is the one who has not walked in the advice of the wicked,
nor stood in the way of sinners,
nor sat in the seat of scoffers.
2 But his delight is in the Torah of Adonai,
and on His Torah he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a planted tree over streams of water,
producing its fruit during its season.
Its leaf never droops—
but in all he does, he succeeds.
4 The wicked are not so.
For they are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand during the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For Adonai knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.
Parable of the Baskets of Figs
24 Adonai showed me, all of a sudden, there were two baskets of figs set before the Temple of Adonai. It was after King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had taken away into exile Jeconiah son of King Jehoiakim of Judah and the princes of Judah, along with the craftsmen and smiths from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.
2 One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe, but the other basket had very bad figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad. 3 Then Adonai said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
So I said, “Figs—the good figs are very good, but the bad are very bad, and cannot be eaten, they are so bad.”
4 Then the word of Adonai came to me, saying, 5 thus says Adonai, the God of Israel: “Like these good figs, so will I regard the exiles of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place to the land of the Chaldeans, as good. 6 I will set My eyes on them as good. I will bring them back to this land, and I will build them up and not pull them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. 7 Then I will give them a heart to know Me—for I am Adonai—and they will be My people, and I will be their God.[a] For they will return to Me with their whole heart.
8 “Now as for the bad figs, which cannot be eaten they are so bad”—surely thus says Adonai—“so I will give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, his princes and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, as well as those dwelling in the land of Egypt. 9 I will even give them as a horror, as an evil thing, among all the kingdoms of the earth—as a disgrace and a proverb, a taunt and a curse—in all places where I will drive them. 10 I will also send the sword, famine and pestilence among them, until they be consumed from off the land that I gave to them and to their fathers.”
Collection for Jerusalem and Final Greetings
16 Now concerning the collection for the kedoshim, as I directed Messiah’s communities in Galatia, you do likewise. 2 On the first day of the week, let each of you set something aside, saving up whatever is gained, so no collections take place when I come. 3 Then whenever I arrive, I will send whomever you approve with letters of introduction to carry your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it is advisable for me to go also, they will go with me.
5 But I will come to you after I have passed through Macedonia—for I am passing through Macedonia. 6 Perhaps I will stay with you, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey—wherever I go. 7 For I do not wish to see you now just in passing—for I hope to stay on with you for a while, if the Lord permits. 8 But I will stay on at Ephesus until Shavuot, 9 for a great door has opened wide for me, though many are in opposition.
10 Now if Timothy comes, see that he has nothing to fear among you—for he is doing the Lord’s work, just as I am. 11 No one, then, should treat him with disrespect. But set him on his way in shalom, so that he might come to me; for I am expecting him, along with the brothers.
12 Now about our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to come to you with the brothers and sisters, and he was quite unwilling to come now—but he will come when he has an opportunity.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.