Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon(A) in a dream at night.(B) God said, “Ask.(C) What should I give you?”
6 And Solomon replied, “You have shown great and faithful love to Your servant, my father David, because he walked before You in faithfulness, righteousness, and[a] integrity. You have continued this great and faithful love for him by giving him a son to sit on his throne,(D) as it is today.(E)
7 “Lord my God, You have now made Your servant king in my father David’s place.(F) Yet I am just a youth with no experience in leadership.[b](G) 8 Your servant is among Your people You have chosen,(H) a[c] people too numerous to be numbered or counted.(I) 9 So give Your servant an obedient heart to judge(J) Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”(K)
10 Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had requested this. 11 So God said to him, “Because you have requested this and did not ask for long life[d] or riches for yourself,(L) or the death[e] of your enemies, but you asked discernment for yourself to understand justice,(M) 12 I will therefore do what you have asked.(N) I will give you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has never been anyone like you before and never will be again.(O)
פ Pe
129 Your decrees are wonderful;(A)
therefore I obey them.(B)
130 The revelation of Your words(C) brings light
and gives understanding to the inexperienced.(D)
131 I open my mouth and pant(E)
because I long for Your commands.
132 Turn to me and be gracious to me,(F)
as is Your practice toward those who love Your name.
133 Make my steps steady through Your promise;(G)
don’t let any sin dominate me.(H)
134 Redeem me from human oppression,(I)
and I will keep Your precepts.
135 Show favor to Your servant,(J)
and teach me Your statutes.(K)
136 My eyes pour out streams of tears(L)
because people do not follow Your instruction.
26 In the same way the Spirit also joins to help in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should,(A) but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us[a](B) with unspoken groanings. 27 And He who searches the hearts(C) knows the Spirit’s mind-set, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
28 We know that all things work together[b] for the good[c] of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.(D) 29 For those He foreknew He also predestined(E) to be conformed to the image of His Son,(F) so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.(G) 30 And those He predestined, He also called; and those He called, He also justified;(H) and those He justified, He also glorified.(I)
The Believer’s Triumph
31 What then are we to say about these things?(J)
If God is for us, who is against us?(K)
32 He did not even spare His own Son(L)
but offered Him up for us all;(M)
how will He not also with Him grant us everything?
33 Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect?(N)
God is the One who justifies.(O)
34 Who is the one who condemns?(P)
Christ Jesus is the One who died,(Q)
but even more, has been raised;(R)
He also is at the right hand of God(S)
and intercedes for us.(T)
35 Who can separate us from the love of Christ?
Can affliction(U) or anguish or persecution(V)
or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
36 As it is written:
Because of You
we are being put to death all day long;(W)
we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.(X)[d]
37 No, in all these things we are more than victorious(Y)
through Him who loved us.(Z)
38 For I am persuaded that not even death or life,(AA)
angels or rulers,(AB)
things present or things to come,(AC) hostile powers,
39 height or depth, or any other created thing
will have the power to separate us
from the love of God(AD) that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!(AE)
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and of the Yeast
31 He(A) presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven(B) is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It’s the smallest of all the seeds, but when grown, it’s taller than the vegetables and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”(C)
33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into 50 pounds[a] of flour until it spread through all of it.”[b](D)
The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and of the Priceless Pearl
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.(A)
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. 46 When he found one priceless[a] pearl, he went and sold everything he had, and bought it.(B)
The Parable of the Net
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea. It collected every kind of fish,(C) 48 and when it was full, they dragged it ashore, sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but threw out the worthless ones. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out, separate the evil people from the righteous,(D) 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.(E)
The Storehouse of Truth
51 “Have you understood all these things?”[b]
“Yes,” they told Him.
52 “Therefore,” He said to them, “every student of Scripture[c] instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who brings out of his storeroom what is new and what is old.”(F)
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