Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
6 God,[a] your kingdom will last forever.
You use your authority for justice.
7 You love what is right and hate what is wrong.
So God, your God, chose you to be king,
giving you more joy and honor than anyone like you.[b]
8 From your clothes comes the wonderful smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
In palaces decorated with ivory, you enjoy the music of stringed instruments.
9 Here are ladies of honor, daughters of kings.
Your bride[c] stands at your right side, wearing a gown decorated with the finest gold.
10 My lady,[d] listen to me.
Listen carefully and understand me.
Forget your people and your father’s family,
11 so that the king will be pleased with your beauty.
He will be your new husband,[e]
so you must honor him.
12 People from Tyre will bring you gifts.
Their richest people will try to win your friendship.
13 The princess is so beautiful in her gown,
like a pearl set in gold.
14 Clothed in beauty, she is led to the king,
followed by her bridesmaids.
15 Filled with joy and excitement,
they enter into the king’s palace.
16 Your sons will be kings like their ancestors.
You will make them rulers throughout the land.
17 You will be famous for generations.
People will praise you forever and ever.
Hosea Buys Gomer Back From Slavery
3 Then the Lord said to me again, “Gomer[a] has many lovers, but you must continue loving her. Do this because it is an example of the Lord’s love for Israel. He continues to love them, but they continue to turn to other gods, and they love to eat those raisin cakes.[b]”
2 So I bought Gomer back for 6 ounces[c] of silver and 9 bushels[d] of barley. 3 Then I told her, “You must stay at home with me for many days. You will not be like a prostitute. You will not have sexual relations with another man. I will be your husband.”
4 In the same way the people of Israel will continue many days without a king or a leader. They will be without a sacrifice or a memorial stone. They will be without an ephod or a household god. 5 After this, the people of Israel will come back and look for the Lord their God and for David their king. In the last days they will come to honor the Lord and his goodness.
23 I tell you this, and I ask God to be my witness that this is true: The reason I did not come back to Corinth was that I did not want to punish or hurt you. 24 I don’t mean that we are trying to control your faith. You are strong in faith. But we are workers with you for your own happiness.
2 So I decided that my next visit to you would not be another visit to make you sad. 2 If I make you sad, then who will make me happy? Only you can make me happy—you, the ones I made sad. 3 I wrote you a letter so that when I came to you I would not be made sad by those who should make me happy. I felt sure that all of you would share my joy. 4 When I wrote to you before, I was very troubled and my heart was full of sadness. I wrote with many tears. I did not write to make you sad, but to let you know how much I love you.
Forgive the Person Who Did Wrong
5 Someone in your group has caused sadness—not to me, but to all of you. I mean he has caused sadness to all in some way. (I don’t want to make it sound worse than it really is.) 6 The punishment that most of your group gave him is enough for him. 7 But now you should forgive him and encourage him. This will keep him from having too much sadness and giving up completely. 8 So I beg you to show him that you love him. 9 This is why I wrote to you. I wanted to test you and see if you obey in everything. 10 If you forgive someone, then I also forgive them. And what I have forgiven—if I had anything to forgive—I forgave it for you, and Christ was with me. 11 I did this so that Satan would not win anything from us. We know very well what his plans are.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International