Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
21 You, Almighty Lord, must help me!
Show that your name is great.
Rescue me,
because your faithful love is good.
22 I am weak and helpless.
My heart beats fast inside me.
23 I will soon be gone,
like a shadow that disappears in the evening.
I am like an insect
that the wind blows away.
24 I am so hungry that my knees shake.
I am so thin that my bones show.
25 My enemies laugh at me!
When they see me,
they shake their heads at me.
26 Lord my God, please help me!
Please rescue me,
because of your faithful love.
27 Lord, cause my enemies to know
that you are the one who has rescued me.
28 They may curse me,
but you will bless me.
When they attack me,
they will become ashamed.
But I will be very happy,
as your servant.
29 Shame will come on my enemies.
It will cover them like a coat.
30 I will thank the Lord with a loud voice!
I will praise him,
in front of a big crowd of people.
31 He stands beside poor people,
and he is ready to help them.
When cruel people accuse a weak person,
the Lord saves that person's life.
So I will praise the Lord.
18 I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not live in the bad way that your fathers did. Do not obey their rules. Do not worship their idols and make yourselves unclean. 19 Remember that I am the Lord your God. So be careful to obey my laws and my commands. 20 Make Sabbath days special to show that you belong to me. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’
21 But their children also turned against me. They were not careful to obey my laws and my commands. (But anyone who obeyed them would enjoy a good life.) They did not obey my rules about Sabbath days. So I was very angry with them. I was ready to destroy them there in the wilderness. 22 But I did not want the people of other nations to insult my name. They had seen me bring Israel's people out of Egypt. So I could not destroy my people. 23 There in the wilderness I made a strong promise to them. I promised to send them to many different places where they would live among other nations. 24 This was because they had not obeyed my laws and my commands. They had not obeyed my rules about Sabbath days. Instead, they worshipped the same idols that their ancestors worshipped. 25 So I let them obey rules that were not good. They were laws that would not help them to enjoy a good life. 26 I let them make themselves unclean because of the offerings that they made. They burned their firstborn children in fire as sacrifices. I did that to make them afraid. I wanted them to know that I am the Lord.”
27 So, son of man, you must speak to Israel's people. Tell them, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: Your ancestors insulted me when they did not serve me faithfully. 28 I took them to the land which I had promised to give to them. But when they were there, they continued to offer sacrifices to idols. They did this on every high hill or under every green tree that they saw! They burned sweet incense and they poured out wine as offerings in all those places. That made me very angry. 29 I asked them, ‘Why do you go to these high places?’ ” (That is why people still call them “high places”.)
30 So say this to Israel's people. “This is what the Almighty Lord says: Will you continue to make yourselves unclean in the way that your ancestors did? You are not faithful to me. Instead, you worship disgusting idols. 31 You make yourselves unclean when you offer sacrifices to your idols. You burn your sons in fire as offerings. You still continue to do that! So should I allow you to come to me for help? I promise you this, as surely as I live: I will not allow you to come to me! That is what the Almighty Lord says.
32 You think, ‘We want to live like the people of other nations and clans. They worship idols that are made from wood and stone.’ But these thoughts will never happen.
Jesus' message to the believers at Philadelphia
7 ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Philadelphia:
“This is my message to you. I am the one who is completely good, the true God. I have King David's key in my hand.[a] When I open a door, nobody can shut it. And when I shut a door, nobody can open it.
8 I know everything that you do. Look! I have opened a door that is in front of you. Nobody can shut that door. I know that you are not very strong. But you have obeyed what I told you. You have continued to believe in me. 9 Some people there say that they are Jews. But that is not true. They are telling lies. Instead, they belong to a group of Satan's people. I will cause those people to bend down low in front of you to give you honour. Then they will understand that I love you. 10 I have told you to be patient in this difficult time. You have obeyed what I told you. Because of that, I will keep you safe from the time of great trouble that will come. This trouble will come to everyone who lives in the world. It will show me what each person is really like.
11 I will come soon.[b] Continue to obey my message that you already know. Then nobody can take away your crown which is God's gift to you.[c]
12 Everyone who wins against Satan will be safe in God's house. I will make them like a strong pillar in the temple of my God. They will never leave that place again. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of his city. The name of that city is the new Jerusalem.[d] It will come down from heaven. My God will send it down to the earth. I will also write my new name on those people. 13 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully!” ’
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