Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
6 (A)Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of (B)uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
7 You have (C)loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
Therefore God, Your God, has (D)anointed You
With the oil of joy above Your fellows.
8 All Your garments are fragrant with (E)myrrh and aloes and cassia;
Out of ivory palaces (F)stringed instruments have made You glad.
9 Kings’ daughters are among (G)Your noble ladies;
At Your (H)right hand stands the queen in (I)gold from Ophir.
10 Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline your ear:
(J)Forget your people and your father’s house;
11 Then the King will desire your beauty.
Because He is your (K)Lord, (L)bow down to Him.
12 The daughter of (M)Tyre will come with a gift;
The (N)rich among the people will seek your favor.
13 The King’s daughter is all glorious within;
Her clothing is (O)interwoven with gold.
14 She will be (P)led to the King (Q)in embroidered work;
The (R)virgins, her companions who follow her,
Will be brought to You.
15 They will be led forth with gladness and rejoicing;
They will enter into the King’s palace.
Hosea’s Second Symbolic Marriage
3 Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a [a]woman who is loved by her [b]husband, yet an adulteress, even (A)as the Lord loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin (B)cakes.” 2 So I (C)bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a [c]half of barley. 3 Then I said to her, “You shall (D)stay with me for many days. You shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a [d]man; so I will also be toward you.” 4 For the sons of Israel will remain for many days (E)without king or prince, (F)without sacrifice or sacred (G)pillar and without (H)ephod or [e](I)household idols. 5 Afterward the sons of Israel will (J)return and seek the Lord their God and (K)David their king; and (L)they will come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness in the last days.
23 But (A)I call God as witness [a]to my soul, that (B)to spare you I did not come again to (C)Corinth. 24 Not that we (D)lord it over your faith, but are workers with you for your joy; for in your faith you are (E)standing firm.
Reaffirm Your Love
2 But I determined this [b]for my own sake, that I (F)would not come to you in sorrow again. 2 For if I (G)cause you sorrow, who then makes me glad but the one whom I made sorrowful? 3 This is the very thing I (H)wrote you, so that (I)when I came, I would not have sorrow from those who ought to make me rejoice; having (J)confidence in you all that my joy would be the joy of you all. 4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I (K)wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.
5 But (L)if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me, but in some degree—[c]in order not to say too much—to all of you. 6 Sufficient for such a one is (M)this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, 7 so that on the contrary you should rather (N)forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For to this end also (O)I wrote, so that I might [d](P)put you to the test, whether you are (Q)obedient in all things. 10 But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes (R)in the presence of Christ, 11 so that no advantage would be taken of us by (S)Satan, for (T)we are not ignorant of his schemes.
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