Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Vision of the Plumb Line
7 This is what he showed me: Look! The Lord was standing upon a wall that stood straight and true, with a plumb line in his hand.[a] 8 And the Lord was asking me, “What do you see, Amos?”
I replied, “A plumb line.”
So the Lord said,
“Look, I have set a plumb line
in the midst of my people Israel.
I will no longer spare them.
9 Isaac’s high places will be destroyed,
and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined.
I will rise in opposition to the house of Jeroboam with my[b] sword.”
A Rebuke for Amaziah
10 So Amaziah priest of Bethel sent a message[c] to Jeroboam king of Israel. It said, “Amos has been conspiring against you in the very heart of the house of Israel! The land cannot bear everything he has to say, 11 because Amos is saying this:
‘By the sword will Jeroboam die,
and Israel will surely go into exile
far from her homeland.’”
12 So Amaziah kept saying to Amos, “Get out of here, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Live[d] there and prophesy there. 13 Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel, because it’s the king’s sanctuary and a temple of the kingdom.”
14 Amos replied in answer to Amaziah,
“I am no prophet,
nor am I a prophet’s son,
for I have been shepherding
and picking the fruit of[e] sycamore[f] trees.
15 But the Lord took me from tending the flock and the Lord kept saying to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’
8 Let me listen to what God, the Lord, says;
for the Lord will promise peace
to his people, to his holy ones;
may they not return to foolishness.
9 Surely, he will soon deliver those who fear him,
for his glory will live in our land.
10 Gracious love and truth meet;
righteousness and peace kiss.
11 Truth sprouts up from the ground,
while righteousness looks down from the sky.
12 The Lord will also provide what is good,
and our land will yield its produce.
13 Righteousness will go before him
to prepare a path for his steps.
The Many Blessings of Salvation
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah![a] He has blessed us in the Messiah[b] with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm, 4 just as he chose us in the Messiah[c] before the creation of the universe[d] to be holy and blameless in his presence. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself through Jesus the Messiah,[e] according to the pleasure of his will, 6 so that we would praise[f] his glorious grace that he gave us in the Beloved One. 7 In union with him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our offenses, according to the riches of God’s[g] grace 8 that he lavished on us, along with all wisdom and understanding, 9 when he made known to us the secret of his will. This was according to his plan that he set forth in the Messiah[h] 10 to usher in[i] the fullness of the times and to bring together in the Messiah[j] all things in heaven and on earth.
11 In the Messiah[k] we were also chosen when we were predestined according to the purpose of the one who does everything that he wills to do, 12 so that we who had already fixed our hope on the Messiah[l] might live for his praise and glory. 13 You, too, have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed in the Messiah,[m] you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until God redeems his own possession[n] for his praise and glory.
The Death of John the Baptist(A)
14 King Herod heard about this, because Jesus’[a] name had become well-known. He was[b] saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead! That’s why he is able to do these miracles.”
15 Others were saying, “He is Elijah.”
Still others were saying, “He is a prophet like one of the other[c] prophets.”
16 But when Herod heard about it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised,” 17 because Herod himself had sent men who arrested[d] John, bound him with chains, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom Herod[e] had married.
18 John had been telling Herod, “It’s not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias bore a grudge against John[f] and wanted to kill him. But she couldn’t do it 20 because Herod was afraid of John. He knew that John[g] was a righteous and holy man, and so he protected him. Whenever he listened to John,[h] he did much of what he said.[i] In fact, he liked listening to him.
21 An opportunity came during Herod’s birthday celebration, when he gave a banquet for his top officials, military officers, and the most important people of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias[j] came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. So the king told the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23 He swore with an oath to her, “I’ll give you anything you ask for, up to half of my kingdom.”
24 So she went out and asked her mother, “What should I ask for?”
Her mother[k] replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”
25 Immediately the girl[l] hurried back to the king with her request, “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
26 The king was deeply saddened, yet because of his oaths and his guests he was reluctant to refuse her. 27 So without delay the king sent a soldier and ordered him to bring John’s[m] head. The soldier[n] went and beheaded him in prison. 28 Then he brought John’s[o] head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When John’s[p] disciples heard about this, they came and carried off his body and laid it in a tomb.
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