Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

By David.

A Description of Jerusalem’s Sins

16 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, ² “Son of man, make known to the people of Jerusalem the disgusting things they have done. ³ Tell them, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says to the people of Jerusalem: Your birthplace and your ancestors were in the land of the Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite, and your mother was a Hittite. ⁴ When you were born, your umbilical cord wasn’t cut. You weren’t washed with water to make you clean. You weren’t rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloth. ⁵ No one who saw you felt sorry enough for you to do any of these things. But you were thrown into an open field. You were rejected when you were born.

⁶ “ ‘Then I went by you and saw you kicking around in your own blood. I said to you, “Live.” ⁷ I made you grow like a plant in the field. You grew up, matured, and became a young woman. Your breasts developed, and your hair grew. Yet, you were naked and bare.

⁸ “ ‘I went by you again and looked at you. You were old enough to make love to. So I spread my robe over you, and covered your naked body. I promised to love you, and I exchanged marriage vows with you. You became mine, declares the Almighty Lord.

⁹ “ ‘Then I bathed you with water, and I washed off your blood. I poured olive oil over you. ¹⁰ I put an embroidered dress on you and fine leather sandals on your feet. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with silk. ¹¹ I gave you jewelry. I put bracelets on your wrists and a necklace around your neck. ¹² I put a ring in your nose, earrings on your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. ¹³ So you wore gold and silver jewelry. You were dressed in fine linen, silk, and embroidered clothes. Your food was flour, honey, and olive oil. You were very beautiful, and eventually you became a queen. ¹⁴ You became famous in every nation because of your beauty. Your beauty was perfect because I gave you my glory, declares the Almighty Lord.

Everyone Is a Sinner

3 Is there any advantage, then, in being a Jew? Or is there any value in being circumcised? ² There are all kinds of advantages. First of all, God entrusted them with his word.

³ What if some of them were unfaithful? Can their unfaithfulness cancel God’s faithfulness? ⁴ That would be unthinkable! God is honest, and everyone else is a liar, as Scripture says,

⁵ But if what we do wrong shows that God is fair, what should we say? Is God unfair when he vents his anger on us? (I’m arguing the way humans would.) ⁶ That’s unthinkable! Otherwise, how would God be able to judge the world? ⁷ If my lie increases the glory that God receives by showing that God is truthful, why am I still judged as a sinner? ⁸ Or can we say, “Let’s do evil so that good will come from it”? Some slander us and claim that this is what we say. They are condemned, and that’s what they deserve.