Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and great in faithful love.(A)
9 The Lord is good to everyone;(B)
His compassion rests on all He has made.(C)
10 All You have made will thank You, Lord;
the[a] godly will praise You.(D)
11 They will speak of the glory of Your kingdom
and will declare Your might,(E)
12 informing all people of Your mighty acts
and of the glorious splendor of Your[b] kingdom.(F)
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom;
Your rule is for all generations.(G)
The Lord is faithful in all His words
and gracious in all His actions.[c](H)
A Plea for Repentance
1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius,(A) the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah(B) son of Berechiah, son of Iddo: 2 “The Lord was extremely angry with your ancestors. 3 So tell the people: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Return to Me”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts—“and I will return to you, says the Lord of Hosts. 4 Do not be like your ancestors; the earlier prophets proclaimed to them: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Turn from your evil ways and your evil deeds.(C) But they did not listen or pay attention to Me”—this is the Lord’s declaration. 5 “Where are your ancestors now? And do the prophets live forever? 6 But didn’t My words and My statutes that I commanded My servants the prophets overtake your ancestors? They repented and said: As the Lord of Hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so He has dealt with us.”(D)
An Illustration from Marriage
7 Since I am speaking to those who understand law, brothers,(A) are you unaware that the law has authority over someone as long as he lives? 2 For example, a married woman is legally bound to her husband while he lives.(B) But if her husband dies, she is released from the law regarding the husband. 3 So then, if she gives herself to another man while her husband is living, she will be called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law. Then, if she gives herself to another man, she is not an adulteress.
4 Therefore, my brothers, you also were put to death(C) in relation to the law(D) through the crucified body of the Messiah,(E) so that you may belong to another—to Him who was raised from the dead—that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For when we were in the flesh,[a](F) the sinful passions operated through the law in every part of us[b](G) and bore fruit for death. 6 But now we have been released from the law, since we have died to what held us, so that we may serve in the new way[c] of the Spirit(H) and not in the old letter of the law.
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