Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.
7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy
more than any of your companions.
8 Myrrh, aloes, and cassia perfume all your garments.
From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad.
9 Daughters of kings are among your honored attendants.
The royal wife[a] stands at your right hand in gold from Ophir.
The Beauty of the Bride
10 Hear, O daughter, look and listen.
Forget your people and your father’s house,
11 because the king desires your beauty.
Because he is your lord, bow down to him.
12 Then the daughter of Tyre will come with a gift.
The richest people will seek your favor.
13 The princess, who waits inside, is all glorious.
Her dress is interwoven with gold.
14 In embroidered garments she is led to the king.
Virgins who follow her as attendants are brought to you.
15 They are brought with joyful celebration.
They enter the palace of the king.
The Glory of the King’s Children
16 Your sons will take the place of your fathers.
You will make them princes in all the earth.
17 I will preserve the memory of your name through all generations.
Therefore peoples will praise you forever and ever.
The Prophet’s Reconciliation With His Wife:
A Picture of the Lord’s Love
3 The Lord said to me, “Go again. Show love to a woman who is loved by another man, a woman who keeps committing adultery. Show love just as the Lord loves the people of Israel, even though they keep turning to other gods and loving the raisin cakes.”[a]
2 So I bought her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver and nine bushels[b] of barley. 3 I said to her, “You will stay with me for many days. You must not be promiscuous.[c] You must not be with any other man, and I will also be for you.”
4 So the people of Israel will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred memorial stones, and without the special vest[d] or family idols.[e] 5 Afterward the people of Israel will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.
23 I call God as my witness, on my very life, that I avoided coming to Corinth in order to spare you. 24 Not that we are lording it over your faith, but we are working together with you for your joy. For you stand firm by faith.
2 That is why I made up my mind that I would not make another sad visit to you. 2 For if I make you sad, then who is there to make me glad, other than those I made sad? 3 I am writing[a] for this very purpose: That when I arrive, I will not be made sad by those who should make me glad. I am confident about all of you—that what gives me joy is what gives joy to all of you. 4 In fact, out of much trouble and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears. My goal was not to make you sad, but that you would know how very much I love you.
Forgive and Comfort the Repentant Sinner
5 Now if anyone has caused sorrow, he has not done it to me, but to all of you to some extent (not to overstate it). 6 This punishment inflicted on such a person by the majority is enough, 7 so that instead you should rather forgive and comfort him, or else such a person could be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 For that reason, I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 In fact, this was also the purpose of my writing: I wanted to know the result of your being tested, that is, if you are obedient in all things.
10 If you forgive anyone anything, I do too. To be sure, if I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven it in the presence of Christ for your sake, 11 so that Satan would not take advantage of us. We are certainly not unaware of his schemes.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.