Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Prayer to Be Kept Safe

43 Stand by me, O God, and speak in my favor against a sinful nation. Save me from the lying and sinful man. ² For You are the God of my strength. Why have You turned away from me? Why do I have sorrow because those who hate me come against me with power?

³ Send out Your light and Your truth. Let them lead me. Let them bring me to Your holy hill and to the places where You live. ⁴ Then I will go to the altar of God, the God of my joy. And I will praise You with the harp, O God, my God.

⁵ Why are you sad, O my soul? Why have you become troubled within me? Hope in God, for I will praise Him again, my help and my God.

Word against False Preachers

13 Then the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, speak against those of Israel who speak false words in My name. Say to those who tell what is going to happen in the future out of their own minds, ‘Listen to the Word of the Lord! ³ The Lord God says, “It is bad for the foolish people who tell what is going to happen by following their own spirit and have seen nothing. ⁴ O Israel, your men who speak in My name are of no more worth than foxes in destroyed cities. ⁵ You have not gone up to the broken places to build the wall around the people of Israel so that it will stand in the battle on the day of the Lord. ⁶ They have lied and have spoken false words using their secret ways, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says,’ when the Lord has not sent them. Yet they hope that what they say will come true. ⁷ Did you not see a false dream and tell a lie using your secret ways when you said, ‘This is what the Lord says,’ when I have not spoken?”’”

⁸ So the Lord God says: “Because you have spoken false words and seen a lie, I am against you,” says the Lord God. ⁹ “My hand will be against those who see false dreams and speak false words. They will have no place in the gathering of My wise people. Their names will not be written down with the people of Israel. And they will not go into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord God. ¹⁰ Because they have led My people the wrong way by saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when anyone builds a bad wall, they cover it with whitewash, ¹¹ tell those who cover it with whitewash that it will fall! A flood of rain will come, and large hailstones will fall. And a strong wind will break out. ¹² When the wall has fallen, will you not be asked, ‘Where is the covering you used to cover the wall?’” ¹³ So the Lord God says, “I will make a strong wind break out in My anger. There will also be a flood of rain in My anger, and large hailstones to destroy that wall. ¹⁴ I will break down the wall that you covered with whitewash. I will bring it down to the ground so that its base will be showing. And when it falls, you will be destroyed with it. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ¹⁵ I will send My anger upon the wall and upon those who have covered it with whitewash. And I will say to you, ‘The wall is gone and the ones who covered it are gone. ¹⁶ There are no more people of Israel who speak false words to Jerusalem in My name, and who see dreams of peace for her when there is no peace,’ says the Lord God.

Watch for False Teachers

2 But there were false teachers among the people. And there will be false teachers among you also. These people will work in secret ways to bring false teaching to you. They will turn against Christ Who bought them with His blood. They bring fast death on themselves. ² Many people will follow their wrong ways. Because of what they do, people will speak bad things against the way of truth. ³ They will tell lies and false stories so they can use you to get things for themselves. But God judged them long ago and their death is on the way.