Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A song of praise for the Sabbath.

Amaziah Begins His Rule in Judah

14 Amaziah son of King Joash of Judah became king in the second year that Jehoash son of Jehoahaz was king of Israel. ² Amaziah was 25 years old when he began to rule. He ruled 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jehoaddin from Jerusalem. ³ Amaziah did what the Lord said was right, but he did not follow God completely like David his ancestor. Amaziah did everything that Joash his father had done. ⁴ He did not destroy the high places. The people still sacrificed and burned incense at those places of worship.

⁵ At the time that Amaziah had strong control of the kingdom, he killed the officers who had killed his father. ⁶ But he did not kill the children of the murderers because of the rules written in the book, The Law of Moses. The Lord gave this command in there: “Parents must not be put to death for something their children did. And children must not be put to death for something their parents did. People should be put to death only for what that they themselves did.”^[a]

⁷ Amaziah killed 10,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. In war, Amaziah took Sela and called it “Joktheel.” It is still called “Joktheel” today.

Amaziah Wants War Against Jehoash

⁸ Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, son of King Jehu of Israel. Amaziah’s message said, “Come on, let’s meet together face to face and fight.”

⁹ King Jehoash of Israel sent an answer to King Amaziah of Judah. Jehoash said, “The thornbush in Lebanon sent a message to the cedar tree in Lebanon. It said, ‘Give your daughter for my son to marry.’ But a wild animal from Lebanon passed by and trampled down the thornbush. ¹⁰ True, you have defeated Edom. But you have become proud because of your victory over Edom. But stay at home and brag! Don’t make trouble for yourself. If you do this, you will fall, and Judah will fall with you!”

¹¹ But Amaziah would not listen to Jehoash’s warning. So King Jehoash of Israel went to fight against King Amaziah of Judah at Beth Shemesh in Judah.^{[b] 12} Israel defeated Judah. Every man of Judah ran home. ¹³ At Beth Shemesh, King Jehoash of Israel captured King Amaziah of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah. Jehoash took Amaziah to Jerusalem. Jehoash broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, about 600 feet.^{[c] 14} Then Jehoash took all the gold and silver and all the dishes in the Lord’s Temple and in the treasuries of the king’s palace. Jehoash also took people to be his prisoners. Then he went back to Samaria.

A Story About a Farmer Sowing Seed^(A)

4 Another time Jesus began teaching by the lake, and a large crowd gathered around him. He got into a boat so that he could sit and teach from the lake. All the people stayed on the shore near the water. ² Jesus used stories to teach them many things. One of his lessons included this story:

³ “Listen! A farmer went out to sow seed. ⁴ While he was scattering the seed, some of it fell by the road. The birds came and ate all that seed. ⁵ Other seed fell on rocky ground, where there was not enough dirt. It grew quickly there because the soil was not deep. ⁶ But then the sun rose and the plants were burned. They died because they did not have deep roots. ⁷ Some other seed fell among thorny weeds. The weeds grew and stopped the good plants from growing. So they did not make grain. ⁸ But some of the seed fell on good ground. There it began to grow, and it made grain. Some plants made 30 times more grain, some 60 times more, and some 100 times more.”

⁹ Then Jesus said, “You people who hear me, listen!”

Why Jesus Used Stories to Teach^(B)

¹⁰ Later, Jesus was away from the people. The twelve apostles and his other followers asked him about the stories.

¹¹ Jesus said, “Only you can know the secret truth about God’s kingdom. But to those other people I tell everything by using stories. ¹² I do this so that

Jesus Explains the Story About Seed^(D)

¹³ Then Jesus said to the followers, “Do you understand this story? If you don’t, how will you understand any story? ¹⁴ The farmer is like someone who plants God’s teaching in people. ¹⁵ Sometimes the teaching falls on the path. That is like some people who hear the teaching of God. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the teaching that was planted in them.

¹⁶ “Other people are like the seed planted on rocky ground. They hear the teaching, and they quickly and gladly accept it. ¹⁷ But they don’t allow it to go deep into their lives. They keep it only a short time. As soon as trouble or persecution comes because of the teaching they accepted, they give up.

¹⁸ “Others are like the seed planted among the thorny weeds. They hear the teaching, ¹⁹ but their lives become full of other things: the worries of this life, the love of money, and everything else they want. This keeps the teaching from growing, and it does not produce a crop^[a] in their lives.

²⁰ “And others are like the seed planted on the good ground. They hear the teaching and accept it. Then they grow and produce a good crop—sometimes 30 times more, sometimes 60 times more, and sometimes 100 times more.”