Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
7 O Elohim Tsebaoth, restore us and smile on us
so that we may be saved.
8 You brought a vine from Egypt.
You forced out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it
so that it took root and filled the land.
10 Its shade covered the mountains.
Its branches covered the mighty cedars.
11 It reached out with its branches to the Mediterranean Sea.
Its shoots reached the Euphrates River.
12 Why did you break down the stone fences around this vine?
All who pass by are picking its fruit.
13 Wild boars from the forest graze on it.
Wild animals devour it.
14 O Elohim Tsebaoth, come back!
Look from heaven and see!
Come to help this vine.
15 Take care of what your right hand planted,
the son you strengthened for yourself.
14 “Are the people of Israel slaves?
Were they born into slavery?
Why, then, have they become someone’s property?
15 Young lions have roared very loudly at them.
Young lions have turned the land into a wasteland.
The cities have been burned down, and everyone has left.
16 People from Noph and Tahpanhes have cracked your skulls, Israel.
17 You have brought this on yourself
by abandoning Yahweh your Elohim
when he led you on his way.
18 You won’t gain anything by going to Egypt
to drink water from the Nile River.
You won’t gain anything by going to Assyria
to drink water from the Euphrates River.
19 Your own wickedness will correct you,
and your unfaithful ways will punish you.
You should know and see how evil and bitter it is for you
if you abandon Yahweh your Elohim and do not fear me,”
declares Adonay Yahweh Tsebaoth.
20 “Long ago you broke off your yoke,[a] tore off your chains,
and said that you wouldn’t be a slave.
You lay down and acted like a prostitute
on every high hill and under every large tree.
21 I planted you like a choice grapevine from the very best seed.
Now you have turned against me and have become a wild vine.
22 Even if you wash with detergent and use a lot of soap,
I would still see the stains from your wickedness,”
declares Adonay Yahweh.
16 Therefore, let no one judge you because of what you eat or drink or about the observance of annual holy days, New Moon Festivals, or weekly worship days. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts the shadow belongs to Christ.
18 Let no one who delights in false humility and the worship of angels tell you that you don’t deserve a prize. Such a person, whose sinful mind fills him with arrogance, gives endless details of the visions he has seen. 19 He doesn’t hold on to Christ, the head. Christ makes the whole body grow as God wants it to, through support and unity given by the joints and ligaments.
20 If you have died with Christ to the world’s way of doing things, why do you let others tell you how to live? It’s as though you were still under the world’s influence. 21 People will tell you, “Don’t handle this! Don’t taste or touch that!” 22 All of these things deal with objects that are only used up anyway. 23 These things look like wisdom with their self-imposed worship, false humility, and harsh treatment of the body. But they have no value for holding back the constant desires of your corrupt nature.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.