Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Nations and God’s Anointed
2 Why are the nations in an uproar,
and their people involved in a vain plot?
2 As the kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers conspire together against the Lord and his anointed one, they say,[a]
3 “Let us tear off their shackles from us,[b]
and cast off their chains.”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
5 In his anger he rebukes them,
and in his wrath he terrifies them:
6 “I have set my king on Zion,
my holy mountain.”
The Anointed King Speaks
7 Let me announce the decree of the Lord
that he told me:
“You are my son,
today I have become your father.
8 Ask of me, and I will give you
the nations as your inheritance,
the ends of the earth as your possession.
9 You will break them with an iron rod,
you will shatter them like pottery.”
10 Therefore, kings, act wisely!
Earthly rulers, be warned!
11 Serve the Lord with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss[c] the son before he becomes[d] angry,
and you die where you stand.[e]
Indeed, his wrath can flare up quickly.
How blessed are those who take refuge in him.
20 Later on, Ahab asked Elijah, “Have you found me, my enemy?”
But Elijah answered, “I’ve found you because you sold yourself to do what the Lord considers to be evil! 21 Now pay attention! I’m going to send evil in your direction! I will completely sweep you away and eliminate from Ahab every male, whether indentured servant or free, throughout Israel. 22 I will make your household resemble that of Nebat’s son Jeroboam, or like the household of Ahijah’s son Baasha, because of how you’ve provoked me to anger and made Israel to sin. 23 The Lord also has this to say about Jezebel: ‘Dogs will eat Jezebel within the outer ramparts of Jezreel. 24 Dogs will eat whoever belongs to Ahab and who dies in the city. The birds of the sky will eat whoever dies in the fields.’”
25 It can be truly said that no one else sold himself to practice what the Lord considered to be evil quite like the way Ahab did, because his wife Jezebel incited him. 26 His behavior in pursuing idolatry was detestable, just like the Amorites had done whom the Lord had expelled in front of the army of Israel. 27 Nevertheless, as soon as Ahab heard this message, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He even slept in sackcloth and wandered around meekly.
28 Later, this message from the Lord came to Elijah the foreigner:[a] 29 “Have you noticed that Ahab has humbled himself in my presence? Because he has humbled himself in my presence, I will not bring his evil to harvest[b] during his lifetime, but I will bring evil to his household during his son’s lifetime.”
9 On their way down the mountain, Jesus[a] ordered them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 They kept the matter to themselves but argued about what “rising from the dead” meant. 11 So they asked him, “Don’t the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
12 He told them, “Elijah is indeed coming first and will restore all things. Why, then, is it written that the Son of Man must suffer a great deal and be treated shamefully? 13 But I tell you that Elijah has come, yet people[b] treated him just as they pleased, as it is written about him.”
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