Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A psalm by David.

¹⁹ The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: What makes you so confident? ²⁰ You give useless advice about getting ready for war. Whom, then, do you trust for support in your rebellion against me? ²¹ Now, look! When you trust Egypt, you’re trusting a broken stick for a staff. If you lean on it, it stabs your hand and goes through it. This is what Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) is like for everyone who trusts him. ²² Suppose you tell me, “We’re trusting the Lord our God.” He’s the god whose places of worship and altars Hezekiah got rid of. He told Judah and Jerusalem, “Worship at this altar in Jerusalem.” ’

²³ “Now, make a deal with my master, the king of Assyria. I’ll give you 2,000 horses if you can put riders on them. ²⁴ How can you defeat my master’s lowest-ranking officers when you trust Egypt for chariots and horses?

²⁵ “Have I come to destroy this place without the Lord on my side? The Lord said to me, ‘Attack this country, and destroy it.’ ”

19 When King Hezekiah heard the message, he tore his clothes in grief, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the Lord’s temple. ² Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the scribe, and the leaders of the priests, clothed in sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz.

³ They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day filled with misery, punishment, and disgrace. We are like a woman who is about to give birth but doesn’t have the strength to do it. ⁴ The Lord your God may have heard all the words of the field commander. His master, the king of Assyria, sent him to defy the living God. The Lord your God may punish him because of the message that the Lord your God heard. Pray for the few people who are left.”

⁵ So King Hezekiah’s men went to Isaiah. ⁶ Isaiah answered them, “Say this to your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Don’t be afraid of the message that you heard when the Assyrian king’s assistants slandered me. ⁷ I’m going to put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own country. I’ll have him assassinated in his own country.’ ”

Eternal Life in the Kingdom^(A)

¹⁸ An official asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

¹⁹ Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God. ²⁰ You know the commandments: Never commit adultery. Never murder. Never steal. Never give false testimony. Honor your father and your mother.”

²¹ The official replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was a boy.”

²² When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still need one thing. Sell everything you have. Distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then follow me!”

²³ When the official heard this, he became sad, because he was very rich. ²⁴ Jesus watched him and said, “How hard it is for rich people to enter God’s kingdom! ²⁵ Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.”

²⁶ Those who heard him asked, “Who, then, can be saved?”

²⁷ Jesus said, “The things that are impossible for people to do are possible for God to do.”

²⁸ Then Peter said, “We’ve left everything to follow you.”

²⁹ Jesus said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: Anyone who gave up his home, wife, brothers, parents, or children because of God’s kingdom ³⁰ will certainly receive many times as much in this life and will receive eternal life in the world to come.”