Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
An instruction[a]. By Ethan, the Ezrahite
God’s Covenant with David
89 I will sing forever about the gracious love of the Lord;
from generation to generation
I will declare your faithfulness with my mouth.
2 I will declare that your gracious love was established forever;
in the heavens itself, you have established your faithfulness.
3 I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have made a promise to David, my servant.
4 “I will establish your dynasty forever,
and I will lift up one who will build[b] your throne
from generation to generation.”
5 Even the heavens praise your awesome deeds, Lord,
your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.
6 For who in the skies compares to the Lord?
Who is like the Lord among the divine beings?
7 God is feared in the council of the holy ones,
revered by all those around him.
8 Lord God of the Heavenly Armies,
who is as mighty as you, Lord?
Your faithfulness surrounds you.
9 You rule over the majestic[c] sea;
when its waves surge,
you calm them.
10 You crushed the proud one[d] to death;
with your powerful arm
you scattered your enemies.
11 Heaven and the earth belong to you,
the world and everything it contains—
you established them.
12 The north and south—you created them;
Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
13 Your arm is strong;
your hand is mighty;
indeed, your right hand is victorious.[e]
14 Righteousness and justice make up
the foundation of your throne;
gracious love and truth meet before you.
15 How happy are the people who can worship joyfully![f]
Lord, they walk in the light of your presence.
16 In your name they rejoice all day long;
they exult in your justice.[g]
17 For you are their strength’s grandeur;
by your favor you exalted our power.[h]
18 Indeed, our shield belongs to the Lord,
and our king to the Holy One of Israel.
Manasseh Succeeds Hezekiah(A)
33 Manasseh began to reign at the age of twelve years, and continued to reign for 55 years in Jerusalem. 2 But he practiced what the Lord considered to be evil by behaving detestably, as did the nations whom the Lord expelled in front of the Israelis.
The Sins of Manasseh
3 He re-established the high places that his father Hezekiah had demolished, he built altars to the Baals, erected Asherim, and worshipped and served the armies[a] of heaven. 4 He also built altars in the Lord’s Temple, about which the Lord had spoken “My name will reside in Jerusalem forever.”[b] 5 He built altars for all the armies[c] of heaven in the two courtyards of the Lord’s Temple.[d] 6 He burned his sons[e] as an offering in the Ben-hinnom Valley, practiced fortune-telling, witchcraft, sorcery, and communicated with mediums and spiritualists. He did a lot of things that the Lord considered to be evil, thus provoking him. 7 He also placed an image that he had carved in God’s Temple, the place about which God had told to David and to his son Solomon, “I will place my name in this Temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel,”[f] 8 and “I won’t let Israel’s foothold slip on the land that I’ve given to your ancestors, if only they will be careful to keep everything that I commanded them in the Law, in the statutes, and in the ordinance through Moses.”[g] 9 This is how Manasseh deceived Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to practice more evil than the nations whom the Lord had eliminated in front of the Israelis.
Manasseh Repents and is Restored
10 The Lord kept on speaking to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention to him, 11 so the Lord brought in the army commanders who worked for the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him in bronze chains, and took him off to Babylon. 12 But when he was in trouble, he sought the face of the Lord his God, humbled himself magnificently before the God of his ancestors, 13 and prayed to him. Moved by Manasseh’s[h] entreaties, the Lord heard his supplications and brought him back to his kingdom in Jerusalem. That’s how Manasseh learned that the Lord is God.
14 Later on, Manasseh[i] reinforced the outer wall to the City of David on the west side overlooking the Gihon Valley as far as the Fish Gate. He encircled the Ophel,[j] raising it to a great height. 15 He also eliminated the foreign gods and idols from the Lord’s Temple, along with all of the altars that he had built in Jerusalem and on the mountain where the Lord’s Temple was located, and he discarded them outside the city. 16 He set up an altar to the Lord, sacrificed peace offerings on it, and ordered Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. 17 Even so, the people continued to sacrifice in the high places, but only to the Lord their God.
The Meaning of Faith
11 Now faith is the assurance that what we hope for will come about[a] and the certainty that what we cannot see exists.[b] 2 By faith our ancestors won approval.
3 By faith we understand that time was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are invisible.
4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did,[c] and by faith[d] he was declared to be righteous, since God himself accepted his offerings. And by faith[e] he continues to speak, even though he is dead.
5 By faith Enoch was taken away without experiencing death. He could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he won approval as one who pleased God. 6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently search for him.
7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, reverently prepared an ark to save his family, and by faith[f] he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes by faith.
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