Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
2 What fools the nations are to rage[a] against the Lord! How strange that men should try to outwit God! 2 For a summit conference of the nations has been called to plot against the Lord and his Messiah, Christ the King.[b] 3 “Come, let us break his chains,” they say, “and free ourselves from all this slavery to God.”
4 But God in heaven merely laughs! He is amused by all their puny plans. 5 And then in fierce fury he rebukes them and fills them with fear.
6 For the Lord declares,[c] “This is the King of my choice, and I have enthroned him in Jerusalem, my holy city.”
7 His chosen one replies,[d] “I will reveal the everlasting purposes of God, for the Lord has said to me, ‘You are my Son. This is your Coronation Day. Today I am giving you your glory.’” 8 “Only ask and I will give you all the nations of the world. 9 Rule them with an iron rod; smash them like clay pots!”
10 O kings and rulers of the earth, listen while there is time. 11 Serve the Lord with reverent fear; rejoice with trembling. 12 Fall down before his Son and kiss his feet[e] before his anger is roused and you perish. I am warning you—his wrath will soon begin. But oh, the joys of those who put their trust in him!
20 “So my enemy has found me!” Ahab exclaimed to Elijah.
“Yes,” Elijah answered, “I have come to place God’s curse upon you because you have sold yourself to the devil.[a] 21 The Lord is going to bring great harm to you and sweep you away; he will not let a single one of your male descendants survive! 22 He is going to destroy your family as he did the family of King Jeroboam and the family of King Baasha, for you have made him very angry and have led all of Israel into sin. 23 The Lord has also told me that the dogs of Jezreel shall tear apart the body of your wife, Jezebel. 24 The members of your family who die in the city shall be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the country shall be eaten by vultures.”
25 No one else was so completely sold out to the devil as Ahab, for his wife, Jezebel, encouraged him to do every sort of evil. 26 He was especially guilty because he worshiped idols just as the Amorites did—the people whom the Lord had chased out of the land to make room for the people of Israel. 27 When Ahab heard these prophecies, he tore his clothing, put on rags, fasted, slept in sackcloth, and went about in deep humility.
28 Then another message came to Elijah: 29 “Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has done this, I will not do what I promised during his lifetime; it will happen to his sons; I will destroy his descendants.”
9 As they descended the mountainside he told them never to mention what they had seen until after he had risen[a] from the dead. 10 So they kept it to themselves, but often talked about it, and wondered what he meant by “rising from the dead.”
11 Now they began asking him about something the Jewish religious leaders often spoke of, that Elijah must return before the Messiah could come.[b] 12-13 Jesus agreed that Elijah must come first and prepare the way—and that he had, in fact, already come! And that he had been terribly mistreated, just as the prophets had predicted. Then Jesus asked them what the prophets could have been talking about when they predicted that the Messiah[c] would suffer and be treated with utter contempt.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.