Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁸ But thou, O son of man, hear all that I say to thee: and do not thou provoke me, as that house provoketh me: open thy mouth, and eat what I give thee.

⁹ And I looked, and behold, a hand was sent to me, wherein was a book rolled up: and he spread it before me, and it was written within and without: and there were written in it lamentations, and canticles, and woe.

3 And he said to me: Son of man, eat all that thou shalt find: eat this book, and go speak to the children of Israel.

² And I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that book:

³ And he said to me: Son of man, thy belly shall eat, and thy bowels shall be filled with this book, which I give thee. And I did eat it: and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.

⁴ And he said to me: Son of man, go to the house of Israel, and thou shalt speak my words to them.

⁵ For thou art not sent to a people of a profound speech, and of an unknown tongue, but to the house of Israel:

⁶ Nor to many nations of a strange speech, and of an unknown tongue, whose words thou canst not understand: and if thou wert sent to them, they would hearken to thee.

⁷ But the house of Israel will not hearken to thee: because they will not hearken to me: for all the house of Israel are of a hard forehead and an obstinate heart.

⁸ Behold I have made thy face stronger than their faces: and thy forehead harder than their foreheads.

⁹ I have made thy face like an adamant and like flint: fear them not, neither be thou dismayed at their presence: for they are a provoking house.

¹⁰ And he said to me: Son of man, receive in thy heart, and hear with thy ears, all the words that I speak to thee:

¹¹ And go get thee in to them of the captivity, to the children of thy people, and thou shalt speak to them, and shalt say to them: Thus saith the Lord: If so be they will hear and will forbear.

¹⁶ I say again, (let no man think me to be foolish, otherwise take me as one foolish, that I also may glory a little.)

¹⁷ That which I speak, I speak not according to God, but as it were in foolishness, in this matter of glorying.

¹⁸ Seeing that many glory according to the flesh, I will glory also.

¹⁹ For you gladly suffer the foolish; whereas yourselves are wise.

²⁰ For you suffer if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take from you, if a man be lifted up, if a man strike you on the face.

²¹ I speak according to dishonour, as if we had been weak in this part. Wherein if any man dare (I speak foolishly), I dare also.

²² They are Hebrews: so am I. They are Israelites: so am I. They are the seed of Abraham: so am I.

²³ They are the ministers of Christ (I speak as one less wise): I am more; in many more labours, in prisons more frequently, in stripes above measure, in deaths often.

²⁴ Of the Jews five times did I receive forty stripes, save one.

²⁵ Thrice was I beaten with rods, once I was stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I was in the depth of the sea.

²⁶ In journeying often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils from my own nation, in perils from the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils from false brethren.

²⁷ In labour and painfulness, in much watchings, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.

²⁸ Besides those things which are without: my daily instance, the solicitude for all the churches.

²⁹ Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is scandalized, and I am not on fire?

³⁰ If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things that concern my infirmity.

³¹ The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed for ever, knoweth that I lie not.

³² At Damascus, the governor of the nation under Aretas the king, guarded the city of the Damascenes, to apprehend me.

³³ And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and so escaped his hands.