Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Thanksgiving to God for His Works
For the music director. A song. A psalm.[a]
66 Shout joyfully to God, all the earth.
2 Sing the glory of his name.
Set forth his glorious praise.[b]
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your works!
Because of the greatness of your strength,
your enemies will cringe before you.
4 All the earth will bow in worship to you,
and sing praise to you.
They will sing the praise of your name.” Selah
5 Come and consider[c] the works of God;
he is awesome in his dealings[d] with the children of humankind.
6 He turned the sea into dry ground;
they passed through the river on foot.
There we rejoiced in him.
7 He rules by his might forever;
his eyes keep watch on the nations.
Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves.[e] Selah
8 Bless our God, O peoples,
and cause the sound of his praise to be heard,
9 the one who has kept our soul among the living,
and has not allowed our foot to slip.
Evil Manasseh Reigns after Godly Hezekiah
21 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Hephzibah. 2 He did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, according to the detestable things of the nations that Yahweh had driven out from the presence of the Israelites.[a] 3 He returned and rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed. He erected altars for Baal and made a pole of Asherah worship just as Ahab king of Israel had made, and he bowed down to all of the host of heaven and served them. 4 He built altars in the temple of Yahweh about which Yahweh had said, “I will put my name in Jerusalem.” 5 He built an altar to all of the host of heaven in the two courtyards of the temple of Yahweh. 6 He made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying and divination, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He increased the doing of evil in the eyes of Yahweh to provoke him. 7 He put the image of the Asherah that he had made in the temple which Yahweh had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this temple and in Jerusalem which I have chosen from all of the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever. 8 I will not again make the feet of Israel wander from the land which I have given to their ancestors,[b] if they only observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, as far as the law that Moses my servant commanded them.” 9 But Manasseh did not listen and tempted them to do evil more than the nations that Yahweh destroyed before the presence of the Israelites.[c]
Yahweh Sends a Rebuke to Manasseh
10 So Yahweh spoke by the hand of his servants the prophets, saying, 11 “Because Manasseh the king of Judah committed these detestable things and did evil more than the Amorites did who were before him and caused even Judah to sin with his idols, 12 therefore, thus says Yahweh the God of Israel, ‘Look, I am bringing disaster upon Jerusalem and Judah about which the two ears of all who hear it will tingle. 13 I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes the dish; he wipes it and turns it on its face. 14 I will give up the remainder of my inheritance, and I will give them into the hand of their enemies. They shall become as prey and as spoil for all their enemies, 15 because they have done evil in my eyes and were provoking me from the day that their ancestors[d] came out from Egypt up to this day.’”
14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold into slavery to sin[a]. 15 For what I am doing I do not understand, because what I want to do, this I do not practice, but what I hate, this I do. 16 But if what I do not want to do, this I do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now I am no longer the one doing it, but sin that lives in me. 18 For I know that good does not live in me, that is, in my flesh. For the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19 For the good that I want to do, I do not do, but the evil that I do not want to do, this I do. 20 But if what I do not want to do, this I am doing, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin that lives in me.
21 Consequently, I find the principle with me, the one who wants to do good, that evil is present with me.[b] 22 For I joyfully agree with the law of God in my inner person, 23 but I observe another law in my members, at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that exists in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be[c] to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself with my mind am enslaved to the law of God, but with my flesh I am enslaved to the law of sin.
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