Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

2 And He said to me: “Son of man, stand up upon your feet, and I will speak to you.”

² And the Spirit entered into me after He had spoken to me, and set me upon my feet, so that I heard Him Who spoke to me.

³ And He said to me: “Son of man, I send you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me. They and their fathers have rebelled against Me to this very day.

⁴ “For they are impudent children, and stiff-hearted. I send you to them. And you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD God.’

⁵ “But surely, they will not hear. Indeed, nor will they cease. For they are a rebellious House: Yet they shall know that there has been a Prophet among them.

123 I lift up my eyes to You Who dwell in the heavens.

² Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maiden to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God until He has mercy on us.

³ Have mercy on us, O LORD! Have mercy on us; for we have suffered too much contempt.

⁴ Our soul is filled too full with the mocking of the wealthy and the contempt of the proud. A song of degrees, or Psalm, of David

² More than fourteen years ago I knew a man in Christ, (whether he was in the body, I cannot tell, or out of the body, I cannot tell; God knows.) who was taken up into the third heaven.

³ And I knew such a man (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell; God knows).

⁴ How that he was taken up into Paradise, and heard words which cannot be spoken, which are not possible for man to utter.

⁵ Of such a man I will boast. Of myself I will not boast, except that it be of my weakness.

⁶ For though I would desire to boast, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think me above that which he sees in me, or hears of me;

⁷ and lest I should be exalted out of measure through the abundance of revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, because I should not be exalted out of measure.

⁸ For this thing I implored the Lord three times, that it might depart from me.

⁹ And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you. For My power is made perfect through weakness.” Therefore, rather, I will very gladly boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

¹⁰ Therefore, I take pleasure in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in anguish for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

6 And He departed from there and came into His own country. And His disciples followed Him.

² And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many who heard Him were astonished, and said, “From where has this Man received these things? And what wisdom is this that is given to Him, that even such great works are done by His hands?

³ “Is not this that carpenter, Mary’s son, the brother of James and Joses, and of Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they were offended by Him.

⁴ And Jesus said to them, “A Prophet is not without honor, except in his own country and among his own kindred and in his own house.”

⁵ And He could do no great works there, except to lay His hands upon a few sick folk and heal them.

⁶ And He marveled at their unbelief, and went around the towns on every side, teaching.

⁷ And He called to Him the twelve and began to send them forth two by two and gave them power over unclean spirits.

⁸ And He commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey except a staff only, neither bag nor bread nor money in their belts.

⁹ But that they should wear sandals and that they should not put on two coats.

¹⁰ And He said to them, “Wherever you shall enter into a house, stay there till you depart that place.

¹¹ “And whoever shall neither receive you nor hear you, shake off the dust that is under your feet when you depart from there, for a witness to them. Truly I say to you, it shall be easier for Sodom or Gomorrah at the Day of Judgment than for that city.”

¹² And they went out and preached repentance.

¹³ And they cast out many demons. And they anointed many who were sick with oil, and healed them.