Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
15 I will return again to My place
Till they [a]acknowledge their offense.
Then they will seek My face;
In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”
A Call to Repentance
6 Come,(A) and let us return to the Lord;
For (B)He has torn, but (C)He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will [b]bind us up.
2 (D)After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.
3 (E)Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established (F)as the morning;
(G)He will come to us (H)like the rain,
Like the latter and former rain to the earth.
Impenitence of Israel and Judah
4 “O Ephraim, what shall I do to you?
O Judah, what shall I do to you?
For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud,
And like the early dew it goes away.
5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,
I have slain them by (I)the words of My mouth;
And [c]your judgments are like light that goes forth.
6 For I desire (J)mercy[d] and (K)not sacrifice,
And the (L)knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
7 “Hear, O My people, and I will speak,
O Israel, and I will testify against you;
(A)I am God, your God!
8 (B)I will not [a]rebuke you (C)for your sacrifices
Or your burnt offerings,
Which are continually before Me.
9 (D)I will not take a bull from your house,
Nor goats out of your folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is Mine,
And the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the mountains,
And the wild beasts of the field are Mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you;
(E)For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.
13 (F)Will I eat the flesh of bulls,
Or drink the blood of goats?
14 (G)Offer to God thanksgiving,
And (H)pay your vows to the Most High.
15 (I)Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”
The Promise Granted Through Faith
13 For the promise that he would be the (A)heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For (B)if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, 15 because (C)the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.
16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be (D)according to grace, (E)so that the promise might be [a]sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, (F)who is the father of us all 17 (as it is written, (G)“I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, (H)who gives life to the dead and calls those (I)things which do not exist as though they did; 18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, (J)“So shall your descendants be.” 19 And not being weak in faith, (K)he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), (L)and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised (M)He was also able to perform. 22 And therefore (N)“it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
23 Now (O)it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe (P)in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 (Q)who was delivered up because of our offenses, and (R)was raised because of our justification.
Matthew the Tax Collector(A)
9 (B)As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.
10 (C)Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with (D)tax collectors and (E)sinners?”
12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: (F)‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, (G)but sinners, [a]to repentance.”
A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed(A)
18 (B)While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live.” 19 So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His (C)disciples.
20 (D)And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and (E)touched the hem of His garment. 21 For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” 22 But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; (F)your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.
23 (G)When Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw (H)the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, 24 He said to them, (I)“Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him. 25 But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and (J)took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26 And the (K)report of this went out into all that land.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.