Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Promise to Rule Well
A psalm of David.
101 I will sing of your love and fairness;
Lord, I will sing praises to you.
2 I will be careful to live an innocent life.
When will you come to me?
I will live an innocent life in my house.
3 I will not look at anything wicked.
I hate those who turn against you;
they will not be found near me.
4 Let those who want to do wrong stay away from me;
I will have nothing to do with evil.
5 If anyone secretly says things against his neighbor,
I will stop him.
I will not allow people
to be proud and look down on others.
6 I will look for trustworthy people
so I can live with them in the land.
Only those who live innocent lives
will be my servants.
7 No one who is dishonest will live in my house;
no liars will stay around me.
8 Every morning I will destroy the wicked in the land.
I will rid the Lord’s city of people who do evil.
The Beginning of the Samaritan People
24 The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and put them in the cities of Samaria to replace the Israelites. These people took over Samaria and lived in the cities. 25 At first they did not worship the Lord, so he sent lions among them which killed some of them. 26 The king of Assyria was told, “You sent foreigners into the cities of Samaria who do not know the law of the god of the land. This is why he has sent lions among them. The lions are killing them because they don’t know what the god wants.”
27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, “Send back one of the priests you took away. Let him live there and teach the people what the god wants.” 28 So one of the priests who had been carried away from Samaria returned to live in Bethel. And he taught the people how to honor the Lord.
29 But each nation made gods of its own and put them in the cities where they lived and in the temples where gods were worshiped. These temples had been built by the Samaritans. 30 The people from Babylon made Succoth Benoth their god. The people from Cuthah worshiped Nergal. The people of Hamath worshiped Ashima. 31 The Avvites worshiped Nibhaz and Tartak. The Sepharvites burned their children in the fire, sacrificing them to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 They also honored the Lord, but they chose priests for the places where gods were worshiped. The priests were chosen from among themselves, and they made sacrifices for the people. 33 The people honored the Lord but also served their own gods, just as the nations did from which they had been brought. 34 Even today they do as they did in the past. They do not worship the Lord nor obey his rules and commands. They do not obey the teachings or the commands of the Lord, which he gave to the children of Jacob, whom he had named Israel. 35 The Lord had made an agreement with them and had commanded them, “Do not honor other gods. Do not bow down to them or worship them or offer sacrifices to them. 36 Worship the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and strength. Bow down to him and offer sacrifices to him. 37 Always obey the rules, orders, teachings, and commands he wrote for you. Do not honor other gods. 38 Do not forget the agreement I made with you, and do not honor other gods. 39 Instead worship the Lord your God, who will save you from all your enemies.”
40 But the Israelites did not listen. They kept on doing the same things they had done before. 41 So these nations honored the Lord but also worshiped their idols, and their children and grandchildren still do as their ancestors did.
The Secret of Our Life
14 Although I hope I can come to you soon, I am writing these things to you now. 15 Then, even if I am delayed, you will know how to live in the family of God. That family is the church of the living God, the support and foundation of the truth. 16 Without doubt, the secret of our life of worship is great:
He[a] was shown to us in a human body,
proved right in spirit,
and seen by angels.
He was proclaimed to the nations,
believed in by the world,
and taken up in glory.
A Warning About False Teachers
4 Now the Holy Spirit clearly says that in the later times some people will stop believing the faith. They will follow spirits that lie and teachings of demons. 2 Such teachings come from the false words of liars whose consciences are destroyed as if by a hot iron. 3 They forbid people to marry and tell them not to eat certain foods which God created to be eaten with thanks by people who believe and know the truth. 4 Everything God made is good, and nothing should be refused if it is accepted with thanks, 5 because it is made holy by what God has said and by prayer.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.