Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
11 Lord, teach me your ways,
and I will live and obey your truths.
Help me make worshiping your name
the most important thing in my life.
12 My Lord God, I praise you with all my heart.
I will honor your name forever!
13 You have such great love for me.
You save me from the place of death.
14 Proud people are attacking me, God.
A gang of cruel men is trying to kill me.
They don’t respect you.
15 My Lord, you are a kind and merciful God.
You are patient, loyal, and full of love.
16 Show that you hear me and be kind to me.
I am your servant, so give me strength.
I am your slave, as my mother was, so save me!
17 Lord, show me a sign that you care for me.
My enemies will see it and be disappointed,
because you helped and comforted me.
The Lord Challenges the False Gods
21 The Lord, the king of Jacob, says, “Come, present your arguments. Show me your proof. 22 Let your idols come in and tell us what will happen. Idols, tell us what happened in the beginning. We will listen closely so that we can make a decision. Tell us what will happen in the future. 23 What signs did you give in the past to prove that you really are gods? Do something! Do anything, good or bad, so that we can see that you are alive. Then we might fear and respect you.
24 “Look, you false gods are worthless. You cannot do anything. Only some horrible fool[a] would want to worship you.”
The Lord Proves He Is the Only God
25 “I called someone in the north[b] to come.
He is coming from the east where the sun rises,
and he honors my name.
He tramples kings
the way a potter softens clay with his feet.
26 “Who told us about this before it happened
so that we could say he was right?
None of your idols told us anything.
They didn’t say a word,
and they cannot hear anything you say.
27 I, the Lord, was the first one to tell Zion about these things.
I sent a messenger to Jerusalem to say,
‘Look, your people are coming back!’”
28 I looked at those false gods.
Not one of them said anything.
They had no advice to offer.
I asked them questions,
but they didn’t say a word.
29 Those gods are all less than nothing.
They cannot do anything.
They are worthless.
Our Salvation Is Greater Than the Law
2 So we must be more careful to follow what we were taught. We must be careful so that we will not be pulled away from the true way. 2 The teaching that God spoke through angels was shown to be true. And every time his people did something against that teaching, they were punished for what they did. They were punished when they did not obey that teaching. 3 So surely we also will be punished if we don’t pay attention to the salvation we have that is so great. It was the Lord Jesus who first told people about it. And those who heard him proved to us that it is true. 4 God also proved it by using miraculous signs, wonders, and all kinds of miracles. And he proved it by giving people various gifts through the Holy Spirit in just the way he wanted.
Christ Became Like People to Save Them
5 God did not choose angels to be the rulers over the new world that was coming. That future world is the world we have been talking about. 6 It is written some place in the Scriptures,
“Why are people so important to you?
Why do you even think about them?
Why do you care about the son of man[a]?
Is he so important?
7 For a short time you made him lower than the angels.
You crowned him with glory and honor.
8 You put everything under his control.[b]” (A)
If God put everything under his control, then there was nothing left that he did not rule. But we don’t yet see him ruling over everything. 9 For a short time Jesus was made lower than the angels, but now we see him wearing a crown of glory and honor because he suffered and died. Because of God’s grace, Jesus died for everyone.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International