Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
7 Restore us again, O God of Hosts,
and cause Your face to shine,
and we shall be delivered.
8 You have brought a vine out of Egypt;
You have cast out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shadow
and the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 It sent out its branches to the sea
and its shoots to the River.
12 Why have You then broken down its walls,
so that all those who pass by the way pluck its fruit?
13 The boar from the woods ravages it,
and the insects of the field devour it.
14 Return again, O God of Hosts;
look down from heaven, and behold,
have regard for this vine
15 and the root that Your right hand has planted,
and the shoots that You made strong for Yourself.
14 Is Israel a servant? Is he a homeborn slave?
Why has he been plundered?
15 The young lions roared at him
and roared loudly,
and they made his land a waste;
his cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.
16 Also the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes
have shaved the crown of your head.
17 Have you not brought this on yourself,
in that you have forsaken the Lord your God
when He led you in the way?
18 And now what are you doing in the way of Egypt,
to drink the waters of the Nile?
Or what are you doing in the way of Assyria,
to drink the waters of the River?
19 Your own wickedness will correct you,
and your backslidings will reprove you.
Know therefore and see
that it is an evil thing and bitter for you
to have forsaken the Lord your God,
and the fear of Me is not in you,
says the Lord God of Hosts.
20 For long ago I have broken your yoke
and burst your bonds;
and you said, “I will not serve.”
For upon every high hill
and under every green tree
you wander, playing the harlot.
21 Yet I had planted you a noble vine,
a wholly faithful seed.
How then have you turned
into the degenerate plant of a strange vine to Me?
22 For though you wash yourself with lye,
and take much soap,
yet your iniquity is marked before Me,
says the Lord God.
16 Therefore let no one judge you regarding food, or drink, or in respect of a holy day or new moon or sabbath days. 17 These are shadows of things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Do not let anyone cheat you of your reward by delighting in false humility and the worship of angels, dwelling on those things which he has not seen, vainly arrogant due to his unspiritual mind, 19 and not supporting the head, from which the entire body, nourished and knit together by joints and sinews, grows as God gives the increase.
The New Life in Christ
20 Therefore, if you died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you subject yourself to legalistic rules? 21 “Do not touch! Do not taste! Do not handle!” 22 These all are to perish with use and are aligned with the commandments and doctrines of men. 23 These things have indeed a show of wisdom in self-imposed worship and humility and neglecting of the body, but are worthless against the indulgence of the flesh.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.