Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
False Prophets
5 Some false prophets are telling lies to the Lord’s people. This is what the Lord says about them:
“These prophets are led by their stomachs.
They promise peace for those who give them food,
but they promise war to those who do not give them food.
6 “This is why it is like night for you
and you don’t have visions.
You cannot see what will happen in the future,
so it is like darkness to you.
The sun has gone down on the prophets.
They cannot see what will happen in the future,
so it is like darkness to them.
7 The seers are ashamed.
The fortunetellers are embarrassed.
None of them will say anything,
because God will not speak to them.”
Micah Is an Honest Prophet of God
8 But the Lord’s Spirit has filled me
with power, goodness, and strength.
So I can tell Jacob about his crimes,
and so I can tell Israel about his sins!
The Leaders of Israel Are to Blame
9 Leaders of Jacob and rulers of Israel, listen to me!
You hate the right way of living!
If something is straight,
then you make it crooked!
10 You build Zion by murdering people.[a]
You build Jerusalem by cheating people!
11 The judges in Jerusalem accept bribes
to help them decide who wins in court.
The priests in Jerusalem must be paid
before they will teach the people.
People must pay the prophets
before they will look into the future.
Then those leaders expect the Lord to help them.
They say, “The Lord lives here with us,
so nothing bad will happen to us.”
12 Leaders, because of you, Zion will be destroyed.
It will become a plowed field.
Jerusalem will become a pile of rocks.
Temple Mount will be an empty hill[b] overgrown with bushes.
43 Defend me, God.
Argue my case against those people who don’t know you.
Protect me from those evil liars.
2 God, you are my place of safety.
Why have you turned me away?
Why must I suffer this sadness
that my enemies have brought me?
3 Send your light and your truth to guide me,
to lead me to your holy mountain, to your home.
4 I want to go to God’s altar,
to the God who makes me so very happy.
God, my God, I want to play my harp
and sing praises to you!
5 Why am I so sad?
Why am I so upset?
I tell myself, “Wait for God’s help!
You will again have a chance to praise him,
your God, the one who will save you.”
9 Brothers and sisters, I know that you remember how hard we worked. We worked night and day to support ourselves, so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we did the work of telling you God’s Good News.
10 When we were there with you believers, we were pure, honest, and without fault in the way we lived. You know, just as God does, that this is true. 11 You know that we treated each one of you the way a father treats his own children. 12 We encouraged you, we comforted you, and we told you to live good lives for God. He calls you to be part of his glorious kingdom.
13 Also, we always thank God because of the way you accepted his message. You heard it and accepted it as God’s message, not our own. And it really is God’s message. And it works in you who believe.
Jesus Criticizes the Religious Leaders(A)
23 Then Jesus spoke to the people and to his followers. He said, 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees have the authority to tell you what the Law of Moses says. 3 So you should obey them. Do everything they tell you to do. But their lives are not good examples for you to follow. They tell you to do things, but they don’t do those things themselves. 4 They make strict rules that are hard for people to obey. They try to force others to obey all their rules. But they themselves will not try to follow any of those rules.
5 “The only reason they do what they do is for other people to see them. They make the little Scripture boxes[a] they wear bigger and bigger. And they make the tassels[b] on their prayer clothes long enough for people to notice them. 6 These men love to have the places of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues. 7 They love for people to show respect to them in the marketplaces and to call them ‘Teacher.’
8 “But you must not be called ‘Teacher.’ You are all equal as brothers and sisters. You have only one Teacher. 9 And don’t call anyone on earth ‘Father.’ You have one Father. He is in heaven. 10 And you should not be called ‘Master.’ You have only one Master, the Messiah. 11 Whoever serves you like a servant is the greatest among you. 12 People who think they are better than others will be made humble. But people who humble themselves will be made great.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International