Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Israel Will Be Punished
6 Do you rulers in Jerusalem
and in the city of Samaria
feel safe and at ease?
Everyone bows down to you,
and you think you are better
than any other nation.
But you are in for trouble!
4 You rich people lounge around
on beds with ivory posts,
while dining on the meat
of your lambs and calves.
5 You sing foolish songs
to the music of harps,
and you make up new tunes,
just as David used to do.
6 You drink all the wine you want
and wear expensive perfume,
but you don't care about
the ruin of your nation.[a]
7 So you will be the first
to be dragged off as captives;
your good times will end.
Shout Praises to the Lord
1 Shout praises to the Lord!
With all that I am,
I will shout his praises.
2 I will sing and praise
the Lord God
as long as I live.
3 You can't depend on anyone,
not even a great leader.
4 Once they die and are buried,
that will be the end
of all their plans.
5 The Lord God of Jacob blesses
everyone who trusts him
and depends on him.
6 (A) God made heaven and earth;
he created the sea
and everything else.
God always keeps his word.
7 He gives justice to the poor
and food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free
8 and heals blind eyes.
He gives a helping hand
to everyone who falls.
The Lord loves good people
9 and looks after strangers.
He defends the rights
of orphans and widows,
but destroys the wicked.
10 The Lord God of Zion
will rule forever!
Shout praises to the Lord!
6 And religion does make your life rich, by making you content with what you have. 7 We didn't bring anything into this world, and we won't[a] take anything with us when we leave. 8 So we should be satisfied just to have food and clothes. 9 People who want to be rich fall into all sorts of temptations and traps. They are caught by foolish and harmful desires that drag them down and destroy them. 10 The love of money causes all kinds of trouble. Some people want money so much they have given up their faith and caused themselves a lot of pain.
Fighting a Good Fight for the Faith
11 Timothy, you belong to God, so keep away from all these evil things. Try your best to please God and to be like him. Be faithful, loving, dependable, and gentle. 12 Fight a good fight for the faith and claim eternal life. God offered it to you when you clearly told about your faith, while so many people listened. 13 (A) Now I ask you to make a promise. Make it in the presence of God, who gives life to all, and in the presence of Christ Jesus, who openly told Pontius Pilate about his faith. 14 Promise to obey completely and fully all that you have been told until our Lord Jesus Christ returns.
15 (B) The glorious God
is the only Ruler,
the King of kings
and Lord of lords.
At the time that God
has already decided,
he will send Jesus Christ
back again.
16 (C) Only God lives forever!
And he lives in light
that no one can come near.
No human has ever seen God
or ever can see him.
God will be honored,
and his power
will last forever. Amen.
17 Warn the rich people of this world not to be proud or to trust in wealth that is easily lost. Tell them to have faith in God, who is rich and blesses us with everything we need to enjoy life. 18 Instruct them to do as many good deeds as they can and to help everyone. Remind the rich to be generous and share what they have. 19 This will lay a solid foundation for the future, so they will know what true life is like.
Lazarus and the Rich Man
19 There was once a rich man who wore expensive clothes and every day ate the best food. 20 But a poor beggar named Lazarus was brought to the gate of the rich man's house. 21 He was happy just to eat the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. His body was covered with sores, and dogs kept coming up to lick them. 22 (A) The poor man died, and angels took him to the place of honor next to Abraham.[a]
The rich man also died and was buried. 23 (B) He went to hell[b] and was suffering terribly. When he looked up and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side, 24 he said to Abraham, “Have pity on me! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and touch my tongue. I'm suffering terribly in this fire.”
25 Abraham answered, “My friend, remember that while you lived, you had everything good, and Lazarus had everything bad. Now he is happy, and you are in pain. 26 And besides, there is a deep ditch between us, and no one from either side can cross over.”
27 But the rich man said, “Abraham, then please send Lazarus to my father's home. 28 Let him warn my five brothers, so they won't come to this horrible place.”
29 Abraham answered, “Your brothers can read what Moses and the prophets[c] wrote. They should pay attention to that.”
30 Then the rich man said, “No, that's not enough! If only someone from the dead would go to them, they would listen and turn to God.”
31 So Abraham said, “If they won't pay attention to Moses and the prophets, they won't listen even to someone who comes back from the dead.”
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