Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹⁶¹ Princes pursue and persecute me without cause, but my heart stands in awe of Your words [dreading violation of them far more than the force of prince or potentate].^(A)

¹⁶² I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great spoil.

¹⁶³ I hate and abhor falsehood, but Your law do I love.

¹⁶⁴ Seven times a day and all day long do I praise You because of Your righteous decrees.

¹⁶⁵ Great peace have they who love Your law; nothing shall offend them or make them stumble.^(B)

¹⁶⁶ I am hoping and waiting [eagerly] for Your salvation, O Lord, and I do Your commandments.^(C)

¹⁶⁷ Your testimonies have I kept [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying them]; I love them exceedingly!

¹⁶⁸ I have observed Your precepts and Your testimonies, for all my ways are [fully known] before You.

21 Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, close beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria; and after these things,

² Ahab said to Naboth, Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near my house. I will give you a better vineyard for it or, if you prefer, I will give you its worth in money.

³ Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you.

⁴ And Ahab [already depressed by the Lord’s message to him] came into his house [more] resentful and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him; for he had said, I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers. And he lay down on his bed, turned away his face, and would eat no food.

⁵ But Jezebel his wife came and said to him, Why is your spirit so troubled that you eat no food?

⁶ And he said to her, Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, Give me your vineyard for money; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard for it. And he answered, I will not give you my vineyard.

⁷ Jezebel his wife said to him, Do you not govern Israel? Arise, eat food, and let your heart be happy. I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.

⁸ So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal and sent them to the elders and nobles who dwelt with Naboth in his city.

⁹ And in the letters she said, Proclaim a fast and set Naboth up high among the people.

¹⁰ And set two men, base fellows, before him, and let them bear witness against him, saying, You cursed and renounced God and the king. Then carry him out and stone him to death.

¹¹ And the men of his city, the elders and the nobles who dwelt there, did as Jezebel had directed in the letters sent them.

¹² They proclaimed a fast and set Naboth on high among the people.

¹³ Two base fellows came in and sat opposite him and they charged Naboth before the people, saying, Naboth cursed and renounced God and the king. Then he was carried out of the city and stoned to death.

¹⁴ Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth has been stoned and is dead.

¹⁵ Then Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite which he refused to sell you, for Naboth is not alive, but dead.

¹⁶ When Ahab heard that, he arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite to take possession of it.

⁹ But concerning brotherly love [for all other Christians], you have no need to have anyone write you, for you yourselves have been [personally] taught by God to love one another.

¹⁰ And indeed you already are [extending and displaying your love] to all the brethren throughout Macedonia. But we beseech and earnestly exhort you, brethren, that you ^[a]excel [in this matter] more and more,

¹¹ To make it your ambition and definitely endeavor to live quietly and peacefully, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we charged you,

¹² So that you may bear yourselves becomingly and be correct and honorable and command the respect of the outside world, being dependent on nobody [self-supporting] and having need of nothing.