Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

SCHIN.

¹⁶¹ ¶ Princes have persecuted me without a cause, but my heart stands in awe of thy words.

¹⁶² ¶ I rejoice at thy spoken word, as one that finds great spoil.

¹⁶³ ¶ I hate and abhor lying, but I love thy law.

¹⁶⁴ ¶ Seven times a day do I praise thee because of the judgments of thy righteousness.

¹⁶⁵ ¶ Those who love thy law have great peace, and nothing shall cause them to stumble.

¹⁶⁶ ¶ LORD, I have waited for thy saving health and done thy commandments.

¹⁶⁷ ¶ My soul has kept thy testimonies, and I have loved them exceedingly.

¹⁶⁸ I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies, for all my ways are before thee.

21 ¶ And it came to pass after these things that Naboth of Jezreel had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, next to the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria.

² And Ahab spoke unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard that I may have it for a garden of herbs because it is next to my house, and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or if it seems good unto thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.

³ And Naboth replied unto Ahab, The LORD keep me from giving thee the inheritance of my fathers.

⁴ And Ahab came into his house, sad and angry, because of the word which Naboth of Jezreel had spoken to him, for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he lay down upon his bed and turned away his face and would eat no bread.

⁵ ¶ And Jezebel, his wife, came to him and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad that thou dost eat no bread?

⁶ And he said unto her, Because I spoke with Naboth of Jezreel and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it; and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard.

⁷ And Jezebel, his wife, said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? Arise and eat bread and let thy heart be merry; I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel.

⁸ So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city dwelling with Naboth.

⁹ And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people

¹⁰ and set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out and stone him that he may die.

¹¹ And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.

¹² They proclaimed a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people.

¹³ Then the two men, sons of Belial, came in and sat before him; and those men of Belial witnessed against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth blasphemed God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones that he died.

¹⁴ Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth has been stoned and is dead.

¹⁵ And it came to pass when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead that she said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel which he refused to give thee for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead.

¹⁶ And it came to pass when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel, to take possession of it.

⁹ ¶ But as touching love among the brethren, ye need not that I write unto you, for ye yourselves have learned of God that ye are to show charity to one another.

¹⁰ And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia, but we beseech you, brethren, that ye continue to grow

¹¹ and that ye procure to be quiet and to do your business and to work with your hands, as we commanded you,

¹² that ye may walk honestly toward those that are without, and that ye may desire nothing from any one.