Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Prayer for Rescue

Yahweh Rebukes Eli

²⁷ Now a man of God came to Eli and said to him: “Thus says Yahweh: ‘Did I not clearly reveal myself to the house of your ancestor^[a] when they were in Egypt under the house of Pharaoh? ²⁸ And I chose him from all the tribes of Israel to be a priest to me, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to bear an ephod before me. I gave to the house of your ancestor^[b] all the offerings made by fire by the Israelites.^{[c] 29} Why do you despise my sacrifice and my offering which I commanded for my dwelling place, while you honored your sons more than me by making yourselves fat from the best of all the offerings of my people Israel? ³⁰ Therefore,’ declares^[d] Yahweh the God of Israel, ‘though I solemnly said that your house and the house of your ancestor^[e] would walk before me forever, but now,’ declares^[f] Yahweh, ‘far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me, I will treat with contempt! ³¹ Look, days are coming when I will cut off your strength^[g] and the strength^[h] of the house of your ancestor^[i] so that no one in your house will live to old age.^{[j] 32} You will look at the distress of my dwelling place, despite all the good caused for Israel, but there will never be an old man in your household forever!^{[k] 33} The only one I will not cut off from my altar is you.^[l] Rather, to cause your eyes to fail and to cause your soul to grieve, all the members of your household^[m] will die as men.^{[n] 34} This is the sign for you that will come regarding your two sons Hophni and Phinehas: they will both die on the same day! ³⁵ But I will raise up for myself a reliable^[o] priest; he will do just according to what is in my heart and in my soul. I will build for him a lasting^[p] house and he will walk continually before my anointed one forever.^{[q] 36} All the remainder of your household will come to bow down before^[r] him for a bit of silver or a loaf of bread and will say, “Please assign me to one of the priestly offices^[s] so that I can eat a morsel of bread.”’”

Jews also Condemned by the Law

¹⁷ But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God ¹⁸ and know his will and approve the things that are superior, because you^[a] are instructed by the law, ¹⁹ and are confident that you yourself are a guide of the blind, a light of those in darkness, ²⁰ an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth in the law. ²¹ Therefore, the one who teaches someone else, do you not teach yourself? The one who preaches not to steal, do you steal? ²² The one who says not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? The one who abhors idols, do you rob temples? ²³ Who boast in the law, by the transgression of the law you dishonor God!^{[b] 24} For just as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”^[c]

²⁵ For circumcision is of value if you do the law, but if you should be a transgressor of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. ²⁶ Therefore, if the uncircumcised person follows the requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be credited for circumcision? ²⁷ And the uncircumcised person by nature who carries out the law will judge you who, though provided with the precise written code^[d] and circumcision are a transgressor of the law. ²⁸ For the Jew is not one outwardly^[e], nor is circumcision outwardly^[f], in the flesh. ²⁹ But the Jew is one inwardly^[g], and circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter, whose praise is not from people but from God.