Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

[A Psalm] of David.

37 Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, and be not envious of them that work unrighteousness;

² for they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and fade as the green herb.

³ Confide in Jehovah, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on faithfulness;

⁴ and delight thyself in Jehovah, and he will give thee the desires of thy heart.

⁵ Commit thy way unto Jehovah, and rely upon him: he will bring [it] to pass;

⁶ and he will bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

⁷ Rest in Jehovah, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him that prospereth in his way, because of the man that bringeth mischievous devices to pass.

⁸ Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; fret not thyself: it [would be] only to do evil.

⁹ For evil-doers shall be cut off; but those that wait on Jehovah, they shall possess the land.

18 And it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign.

² He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Abi, daughter of Zechariah.

³ And he did what was right in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that David his father had done.

⁴ He removed the high places, and broke the columns, and cut down the Asherahs, and broke in pieces the serpent of brass that Moses had made; for to those days the children of Israel burned incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.

⁵ He trusted in Jehovah the God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor [among any] that were before him.

⁶ And he clave to Jehovah, and did not turn aside from following him, but kept his commandments, which Jehovah commanded Moses.

⁷ And Jehovah was with him; he prospered whithersoever he went forth. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not.

⁸ He smote the Philistines unto Gazah and its borders, from the watchmen's tower to the fortified city.

²⁸ And Rab-shakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jewish [language], and spoke and said, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria!

²⁹ Thus says the king: Let not Hezekiah deceive you; for he will not be able to deliver you out of the [king's] hand.

³⁰ Neither let Hezekiah make you rely upon Jehovah, saying, Jehovah will certainly deliver us, and this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.

³¹ Hearken not to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: Make peace with me, and come out to me; and eat every one of his vine and every one of his fig-tree, and drink every one the waters of his own cistern;

³² until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive-trees and of honey, that ye may live and not die; and hearken not to Hezekiah, when he persuades you, saying, Jehovah will deliver us.

³³ Have any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?

³⁴ Where are the gods of Hamath and of Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?

³⁵ Which are they among all the gods of the countries, who have delivered their country out of my hand, that Jehovah should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?

³⁶ But the people were silent and answered him not a word; for the king's command was, saying, Answer him not.

⁸ And to the angel of the assembly in Smyrna write: These things says the first and the last, who became dead, and lived:

⁹ I know thy tribulation and thy poverty; but thou art rich; and the railing of those who say that they themselves are Jews, and are not, but a synagogue of Satan.

¹⁰ Fear nothing [of] what thou art about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give to thee the crown of life.

¹¹ He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. He that overcomes shall in no wise be injured of the second death.