Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God Will Punish the Proud
For the director of music. A maskil of David. When Doeg the Edomite came to Saul and said to him, “David is in Ahimelech’s house.”
52 Mighty warrior, why do you brag about the evil you do?
God’s love will continue forever.
2 You think up evil plans.
Your tongue is like a sharp razor,
making up lies.
3 You love wrong more than right
and lies more than truth. Selah
4 You love words that bite
and tongues that lie.
5 But God will ruin you forever.
He will grab you and throw you out of your tent;
he will tear you away from the land of the living. Selah
6 Those who do right will see this and fear God.
They will laugh at you and say,
7 “Look what happened to the man
who did not depend on God
but depended on his money.
He grew strong by his evil plans.”
8 But I am like an olive tree
growing in God’s Temple.
I trust God’s love
forever and ever.
9 God, I will thank you forever for what you have done.
With those who worship you, I will trust you because you are good.
A Cedar Tree
31 It was in the eleventh year of our captivity, in the third month, on the first day of the month. The Lord spoke his word to me, saying: 2 “Human, say to the king of Egypt and his people:
‘No one is like you in your greatness.
3 Assyria was once like a cedar tree in Lebanon
with beautiful branches that shaded the forest.
It was very tall;
its top was among the clouds.
4 Much water made the tree grow;
the deep springs made it tall.
Rivers flowed
around the bottom of the tree
and sent their streams
to all other trees in the countryside.
5 So the tree was taller
than all the other trees in the countryside.
Its limbs became long and big
because of so much water.
6 All the birds of the sky
made their nests in the tree’s limbs.
And all the wild animals
gave birth under its branches.
All great nations
lived in the tree’s shade.
7 So the tree was great and beautiful,
with its long branches,
because its roots reached down to much water.
8 The cedar trees in the garden of God
were not as great as it was.
The pine trees
did not have such great limbs.
The plane trees
did not have such branches.
No tree in the garden of God
was as beautiful as this tree.
9 I made it beautiful
with many branches,
and all the trees of Eden in the garden of God
wanted to be like it.
10 “‘So this is what the Lord God says: The tree grew tall. Its top reached the clouds, and it became proud of its height. 11 So I handed it over to a mighty ruler of the nations for him to punish it. Because it was evil, I got rid of it. 12 The cruelest foreign nation cut it down and left it. The tree’s branches fell on the mountains and in all the valleys, and its broken limbs were in all the ravines of the land. All the nations of the earth left the shade of that tree.
Paul Ends His Letter
11 See what large letters I use to write this myself. 12 Some people are trying to force you to be circumcised so the Jews will accept them. They are afraid they will be attacked if they follow only the cross of Christ.[a] 13 Those who are circumcised do not obey the law themselves, but they want you to be circumcised so they can brag about what they forced you to do. 14 I hope I will never brag about things like that. The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is my only reason for bragging. Through the cross of Jesus my world was crucified, and I died to the world. 15 It is not important if a man is circumcised or uncircumcised. The important thing is being the new people God has made. 16 Peace and mercy to those who follow this rule—and to all of God’s people.
17 So do not give me any more trouble. I have scars on my body that show[b] I belong to Christ Jesus.
18 My brothers and sisters, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.