Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Song of Praise

92 It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and sing praises to Your name, O Most High. ² It is good to tell of Your loving-kindness in the morning, and of how faithful You are at night, ³ with harps, and with music of praise. ⁴ For You have made me glad by what You have done, O Lord. I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands.

¹² The man who is right and good will grow like the palm tree. He will grow like a tall tree in Lebanon. ¹³ Planted in the house of the Lord, they will grow well in the home of our God. ¹⁴ They will still give fruit when they are old. They will be full of life and strength. ¹⁵ And they will show that the Lord is faithful. He is my rock. There is nothing in Him that is not right and good.

Amaziah Rules Judah

14 In the second year of Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, Joash’s son Amaziah began to rule as king of Judah. ² He was twenty-five years old when he became king. And he ruled twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. ³ Amaziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not like David his father. He did all that his father Joash had done. ⁴ But the high places were not taken away. The people still gave gifts and burned special perfume on the high places. ⁵ As soon as the nation was under Amaziah’s power, he killed the servants who had killed his father when he was king. ⁶ But he did not kill the sons of the killers. Because it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, as the Lord said, “The fathers must not be put to death for the sons. And the sons must not be put to death for the fathers. Each must be put to death for his own sin.” ⁷ Amaziah killed 10,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt, and took Sela by war. He gave it the name Joktheel, which is its name to this day. ⁸ Then Amaziah sent men with news to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us look at each other in the face.” ⁹ Jehoash king of Israel answered Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thorn bush in Lebanon sent word to the cedar tree in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ But a wild animal passed by in Lebanon, and crushed the thorn bush under its feet. ¹⁰ Yes, you have won the battle against Edom. Your heart has become proud. Be happy with your greatness and stay at home. For why should you make trouble so that you fall, and Judah with you?”

¹¹ But Amaziah would not listen. So King Jehoash of Israel went up. He and Amaziah king of Judah fought each other at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. ¹² Israel won the battle against Judah, and every man of Judah ran away to his tent. ¹³ King Jehoash of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh. Then he came to Jerusalem and tore down the city wall, from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate. He tore down the wall as far as 200 long steps. ¹⁴ He took all the gold and silver and all the objects found in the house of the Lord and in the store-rooms of the king’s house. He took people against their will also, and he returned to Samaria.

The Picture-Story of the Man Who Planted Seed ^(A)

4 Jesus began to teach by the sea-shore again. Many people gathered around Him. There were so many He had to get into a boat and sit down. The people were on the shore. ² He taught them many things by using picture-stories. As He taught, He said, ³ “Listen! A man went out to plant seed. ⁴ As he planted the seed, some fell by the side of the road. Birds came and ate them. ⁵ Some seed fell among rocks. It came up at once because there was so little ground. ⁶ But it dried up when the sun was high in the sky because it had no root. ⁷ Some seed fell among thorns. The thorns grew and did not give the seed room to grow. This seed gave no grain. ⁸ Some seed fell on good ground. It came up and grew and gave much grain. Some gave thirty times as much grain. Some gave sixty times as much grain. Some gave one hundred times as much grain.” ⁹ He said to them, “You have ears, then listen!” ¹⁰ Those who were with Jesus and the twelve followers came to Him when He was alone. They asked about the picture-story. ¹¹ He said to them, “You were given the secrets about the holy nation of God. Everything is told in picture-stories to those who are outside the holy nation of God. ¹² They see, but do not know what it means. They hear, but do not understand. If they did, they might turn to God and have their sins forgiven.” ^(B)

Jesus Tells about the Man Who Planted the Seed

¹³ Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this picture-story? Then how will you understand any of the picture-stories? ¹⁴ What the man plants is the Word of God. ¹⁵ Those by the side of the road are the ones who hear the Word. As soon as they hear it, the devil comes and takes away the Word that is planted in their hearts. ¹⁶ The seed that fell among rocks is like people who receive the Word with joy when they hear it. ¹⁷ Their roots are not deep so they live only a short time. When sorrow and trouble come because of the Word, they give up and fall away. ¹⁸ The seed that was planted among thorns is like some people who listen to the Word. ¹⁹ But the cares of this life let thorns come up. A love for riches and always wanting other things let thorns grow. These things do not give the Word room to grow so it does not give grain. ²⁰ The seed that fell on good ground is like people who hear the Word and understand it. They give much grain. Some give thirty times as much grain. Some give sixty times as much grain. Some give one hundred times as much grain.”