Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Psalmist’s Profession of Uprightness.

A Psalm of David.

¹⁹ Then Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, “^(A)What is this confidence that you ^[a]have? ²⁰ You say (but they are ^[b]only empty words), ‘I have counsel and strength for the war.’ Now on whom do you rely, ^(B)that you have rebelled against me? ²¹ Now behold, you ^[c](C)rely on the staff of this crushed reed, even on Egypt; on which if a man leans, it will go into his ^[d]hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him. ²² But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,’ is it not He whose high places and ^(D)whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’? ²³ Now therefore, ^[e]come, make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. ²⁴ How then can you ^[f]repulse one ^[g]official of the least of my master’s servants, and ^[h]rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? ²⁵ Have I now come up ^[i]without the Lord’s approval against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”’”

Isaiah Encourages Hezekiah

19 ^(A)And when King Hezekiah heard it, he ^(B)tore his clothes, ^(C)covered himself with sackcloth and entered the house of the Lord. ² Then he sent Eliakim who was over the household with Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, ^(D)covered with sackcloth, to ^(E)Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. ³ They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and rejection; for children have come to birth and there is no strength to deliver. ^4 (F)Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent ^(G)to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for ^(H)the remnant that is left.’” ⁵ So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. ⁶ Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the ^(I)servants of the king of Assyria ^(J)have blasphemed Me. ⁷ Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that ^(K)he will hear a rumor and return to his own land. And ^(L)I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”’”

The Rich Young Ruler

^18 (A)A ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. ²⁰ You know the commandments, ‘^(B)Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” ²¹ And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” ²² When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; ^(C)sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have ^(D)treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” ²³ But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. ²⁴ And Jesus looked at him and said, “^(E)How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ For ^(F)it is easier for a camel to ^[a]go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ They who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ But He said, “^(G)The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”

²⁸ Peter said, “Behold, ^(H)we have left ^[b]our own homes and followed You.” ²⁹ And He said to them, “Truly I say to you, ^(I)there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, ³⁰ who will not receive many times as much at this time and in ^(J)the age to come, eternal life.”