Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
6 Your throne, O God,[a] will last for ever and ever;(A)
a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
7 You love righteousness(B) and hate wickedness;(C)
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing(D) you with the oil of joy.(E)
8 All your robes are fragrant(F) with myrrh(G) and aloes(H) and cassia;(I)
from palaces adorned with ivory(J)
the music of the strings(K) makes you glad.
9 Daughters of kings(L) are among your honored women;
at your right hand(M) is the royal bride(N) in gold of Ophir.(O)
10 Listen, daughter,(P) and pay careful attention:(Q)
Forget your people(R) and your father’s house.
11 Let the king be enthralled by your beauty;(S)
honor(T) him, for he is your lord.(U)
12 The city of Tyre(V) will come with a gift,[b](W)
people of wealth will seek your favor.
13 All glorious(X) is the princess within her chamber;
her gown is interwoven with gold.(Y)
14 In embroidered garments(Z) she is led to the king;(AA)
her virgin companions(AB) follow her—
those brought to be with her.
15 Led in with joy and gladness,(AC)
they enter the palace of the king.
16 Your sons will take the place of your fathers;
you will make them princes(AD) throughout the land.
Hosea’s Reconciliation With His Wife
3 The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress.(A) Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.(B)”
2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels[a] of silver and about a homer and a lethek[b] of barley. 3 Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.”
4 For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince,(C) without sacrifice(D) or sacred stones,(E) without ephod(F) or household gods.(G) 5 Afterward the Israelites will return and seek(H) the Lord their God and David their king.(I) They will come trembling(J) to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.(K)
23 I call God as my witness(A)—and I stake my life on it—that it was in order to spare you(B) that I did not return to Corinth. 24 Not that we lord it over(C) your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.(D) 2 1 So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you.(E) 2 For if I grieve you,(F) who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved? 3 I wrote as I did,(G) so that when I came I would not be distressed(H) by those who should have made me rejoice. I had confidence(I) in all of you, that you would all share my joy. 4 For I wrote you(J) out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.
Forgiveness for the Offender
5 If anyone has caused grief,(K) he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. 6 The punishment(L) inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. 7 Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him,(M) so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. 9 Another reason I wrote you(N) was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything.(O) 10 Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11 in order that Satan(P) might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.(Q)
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