Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
11 Teach me your ways, Lord,
that I may walk in your truth;
let me wholeheartedly[a] revere your name.
12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with my whole being;
and I will honor your name continuously.
13 For great is your gracious love to me;
you’ve delivered me from the depths of Sheol.[b]
14 God, arrogant men rise up against me,
while a company of ruthless individuals want to kill me.
They do not have regard for you.[c]
15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate God,
merciful and patient,[d]
with unending gracious love and faithfulness.
16 Return to me and have mercy on me;
clothe your servant with your strength
and deliver the son of your maid servant.
17 Show me a sign of your goodness,
so that those who hate me will see it and be ashamed.
For you, Lord, will help and comfort me.
Can God’s Enemies Predict the Future?
21 “Put forward your case!” says the Lord.
“Submit your arguments!” says Jacob’s King.
22 Let them approach and ask us,
‘What will happen?
As to the former things, what were they?
Tell us, so that we may consider them and know.
Or[a] the latter things or the things to come—
let us hear.
23 Tell us what the future holds,
so we may know that you are gods!
Yes, do something good or something bad,
so we may hear[b] and gaze at it together.’”
24 “Look! You and your work are less than nothing;[c]
whoever finds you pleasing is disgusting.”
25 “You are stirring up[d] one from the north,
and they are coming[e] from the rising of the sun;
and[f] he will be called by his[g] name.
Rulers will arrive like mud;[h]
just[i] like a potter, he will trample the clay.
26 Who told of this from the beginning,
so we could know,
or beforehand, so we could ask,
‘Is it right?’[j]
Indeed, no one told of this,
no one made an announcement,
and no one heard your words:
27 First, to Zion: “There is slumber.”[k]
And to Jerusalem: “I’ll send a messenger with good news.”
28 But when I look, there is no one—
among them there’s no one to give counsel,
no one to give an answer when I ask them.
29 See, none of them exist, and their deeds are nothing.[l]
Their metal images are only wind and confusion.’”
We Must Not Neglect Our Salvation
2 For this reason we must pay closer attention to the things we have heard, or we may drift away, 2 because if the message spoken by angels was reliable, and every violation and act of disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how will we escape if we neglect a salvation as great as this? It was first proclaimed by the Lord himself, and then it was confirmed to us by those who heard him, 4 while God added his testimony through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
Jesus is the Source of Our Salvation
5 For he did not put the coming world we are talking about under the control of angels. 6 Instead, someone has declared somewhere,
“What is man that you should remember him,
or the son of man that you should care for him?
7 You made him a little lower than the angels,
yet you crowned him with glory and honor
8 and put everything under his feet.”[a]
Now when God[b] put everything under him, he left nothing outside his control. However, at the present time we do not yet see everything put under him. 9 But we do see someone who was made a little lower than the angels. He is Jesus, who is crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of[c] God he might experience[d] death for everyone.
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