Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
113 Praise the Lord!
Servants of the Lord, praise him!
Praise the Lord’s name.
2 May the Lord’s name be praised
now and forever.
3 May the Lord’s name be praised
from where the sun rises to where it goes down.
4 The Lord is higher than all nations.
His glory rises to the skies.
5 There is no one like the Lord our God.
He sits on his throne high in heaven.
6 He is so high above us that he must look down
to see the sky and the earth.
7 He lifts the poor out of the dirt
and rescues beggars from the garbage dump.
8 He puts them in important positions,
giving them a place among the leaders of his people.
9 He gives children to the woman whose home is empty.
He makes her a happy mother.
Praise the Lord!
Israel Is Like Worthless Waste
17 The word of the Lord came to me. He said, 18 “Son of man, bronze, iron, lead, and tin are important metals, but when a worker melts silver to make it pure, those metals are poured off as waste. Israel has become like that waste to me. 19 So this is what the Lord God says: ‘All of you have become like worthless waste. So I will gather you into Jerusalem. 20 Workers put silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into a fire. They blow on the fire to make it hotter. Then the metals begin to melt. In the same way I will put you in my fire and melt you. That fire is my hot anger. 21 I will put you in my fire of anger and blow on it, and you will begin to melt. 22 In that city, you will be like silver melting in a fire. Then you will know that I am the Lord, and that I poured out my anger on you.’”
Ezekiel Speaks Against Jerusalem
23 The word of the Lord came to me. He said, 24 “Son of man, speak to Israel. Tell her that she is not pure.[a] I am angry at that country, so that country has not received its rain. 25 The prophets in Jerusalem are making evil plans. They are like a lion—it roars when it begins to eat the animal it caught. They have destroyed many lives. They have taken many valuable things and made widows of many of the women in Jerusalem.
26 “The priests have really hurt my teachings. They don’t treat my holy things right—they don’t show they are important. They treat holy things the same as things that are not holy. They treat clean things like things that are unclean. They don’t teach the people about these things. They refuse to respect my special days of rest. They treat me as though I am not important.
27 “The leaders in Jerusalem are like a wolf eating the animal it has caught. They attack people and kill them just to get rich.
28 “The prophets don’t warn the people—they cover up the truth. They are like workers who don’t really repair a wall—they only put plaster over the holes. They only see lies. They do their magic to learn the future, but they only tell lies. They say, ‘This is what the Lord God said.’ But they are only lying—the Lord did not speak to them!
29 “The common people take advantage of each other. They cheat and steal from each other. They get rich by taking advantage of poor, helpless beggars, and they really cheat the foreigners. They are not fair to them at all!
30 “I asked the people to change their lives and protect their country. I asked people to fix the walls. I wanted them to stand by those holes in the wall and fight to protect their city. But no one came to help! 31 So I will show them my anger—I will completely destroy them. I will punish them for the evil things they have done. It is all their fault.” This is what the Lord God said.
God’s Love in Christ Jesus
31 So what should we say about this? If God is for us, no one can stand against us. And God is with us. 32 He even let his own Son suffer for us. God gave his Son for all of us. So now with Jesus, God will surely give us all things. 33 Who can accuse the people God has chosen? No one! God is the one who makes them right. 34 Who can say that God’s people are guilty? No one! Christ Jesus died for us, but that is not all. He was also raised from death. And now he is at God’s right side, speaking to him for us. 35 Can anything separate us from Christ’s love? Can trouble or problems or persecution separate us from his love? If we have no food or clothes or face danger or even death, will that separate us from his love? 36 As the Scriptures say,
“For you we are in danger of death all the time.
People think we are worth no more than sheep to be killed.” (A)
37 But in all these troubles we have complete victory through God, who has shown his love for us. 38-39 Yes, I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not death, life, angels, or ruling spirits. I am sure that nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us or nothing below us—nothing in the whole created world—will ever be able to separate us from the love God has shown us in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International