Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Childlike Trust in the Lord.

A Song of Ascents, of David.

The Ruined Waistband

13 Thus the Lord said to me, “Go and ^(A)buy yourself a linen waistband and put it around your waist, but do not put it in water.” ² So I bought the waistband in accordance with the ^(B)word of the Lord and put it around my waist. ³ Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, ⁴ “Take the waistband that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to ^[a]the ^(C)Euphrates and hide it there in a crevice of the rock.” ⁵ So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, ^(D)as the Lord had commanded me. ⁶ After many days the Lord said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates and take from there the waistband which I commanded you to hide there.” ⁷ Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the waistband from the place where I had hidden it; and lo, the waistband was ruined, it was totally worthless.

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁹ “Thus says the Lord, ‘Just so will I destroy the ^(E)pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ This wicked people, who ^(F)refuse to listen to My words, who ^(G)walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and have gone after other gods to serve them and to bow down to them, let them be just like this waistband which is totally worthless. ¹¹ For as the waistband clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole household of Israel and the whole household of Judah ^(H)cling to Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘that they might be for Me a people, for ^[b](I)renown, for ^(J)praise and for glory; but they ^(K)did not listen.’

The Lord’s Supper

13 Now before the Feast of ^(A)the Passover, Jesus knowing that ^(B)His hour had come that He would depart out of this world ^(C)to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them ^[a]to the end. ² During supper, ^(D)the devil having already put into the heart of ^(E)Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, ³ Jesus, ^(F)knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that ^(G)He had come forth from God and was going back to God, ⁴ *got up from supper, and *laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He ^(H)girded Himself.

Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet

⁵ Then He *poured water into the basin, and began to ^(I)wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. ⁶ So He *came to Simon Peter. He *said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” ⁷ Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand ^(J)hereafter.” ⁸ Peter *said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “^(K)If I do not wash you, ^(L)you have no part with Me.” ⁹ Simon Peter *said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” ¹⁰ Jesus *said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and ^(M)you are clean, but not all of you.” ¹¹ For ^(N)He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.”

¹² So when He had washed their feet, and ^(O)taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? ¹³ You call Me ^(P)Teacher and ^(Q)Lord; and ^[b]you are right, for so I am. ¹⁴ If I then, ^(R)the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ For I gave you ^(S)an example that you also should do as I did to you. ¹⁶ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(T)a slave is not greater than his master, nor is ^(U)one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ If you know these things, you are ^(V)blessed if you do them.