Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁹ There he came to a cave and lodged in it; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah?

¹⁰ He replied, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, thrown down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I, I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

¹¹ And He said, Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord. And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake;

¹² And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire [a sound of gentle stillness and] a still, small voice.

¹³ When Elijah heard the voice, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, What are you doing here, Elijah?

¹⁴ He said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts, because the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, thrown down Your altars, and slain Your prophets with the sword. And I, I only, am left, and they seek my life, to destroy it.

¹⁵ And the Lord said to him, Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.

¹⁶ And anoint Jehu son of Nimshi to be king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah to be prophet in your place.

¹⁷ And him who escapes from the sword of ^[a]Hazael Jehu shall slay, and him who escapes the sword of Jehu Elisha shall slay.

¹⁸ Yet I will leave Myself 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.

⁸ I will listen [with expectancy] to what God the Lord will say, for He will speak peace to His people, to His saints (those who are in right standing with Him)—but let them not turn again to [self-confident] folly.

⁹ Surely His salvation is near to those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, [and is ready to be appropriated] that [the manifest presence of God, His] glory may tabernacle and abide in our land.

¹⁰ Mercy and loving-kindness and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

¹¹ Truth shall spring up from the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

¹² Yes, the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.

¹³ Righteousness shall go before Him and shall make His footsteps a way in which to walk.

⁵ For Moses writes that the man who [can] practice the righteousness (perfect conformity to God’s will) which is based on the Law [with all its intricate demands] shall live by it.^(A)

⁶ But the righteousness based on faith [imputed by God and bringing right relationship with Him] says, Do not say in your heart, Who will ascend into Heaven? that is, to bring Christ down;

⁷ Or who will descend into the abyss? that is, to bring Christ up from the dead [as if we could be saved by our own efforts].^(B)

⁸ But what does it say? The Word (God’s message in Christ) is near you, on your lips and in your heart; that is, the Word (the message, the basis and object) of faith which we preach,^(C)

⁹ Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

¹⁰ For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation.

¹¹ The Scripture says, No man who believes in Him [who adheres to, relies on, and trusts in Him] will [ever] be put to shame or be disappointed.^(D)

¹² [No one] for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. The same Lord is Lord over all [of us] and He generously bestows His riches upon all who call upon Him [in faith].

¹³ For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord [invoking Him as Lord] will be saved.^(E)

¹⁴ But how are people to call upon Him Whom they have not believed [in Whom they have no faith, on Whom they have no reliance]? And how are they to believe in Him [adhere to, trust in, and rely upon Him] of Whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?

¹⁵ And how can men [be expected to] preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings! [How welcome is the coming of those who preach the good news of His good things!]^(F)

²² Then He directed the disciples to get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent away the crowds.

²³ And after He had dismissed the multitudes, He went up into the hills by Himself to pray. When it was evening, He was still there alone.

²⁴ But the boat was by this time out on the sea, many furlongs [a furlong is one-eighth of a mile] distant from the land, beaten and tossed by the waves, for the wind was against them.

²⁵ And in the fourth watch [between 3:00—6:00 a.m.] of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea.

²⁶ And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified and said, It is a ghost! And they screamed out with fright.

²⁷ But instantly He spoke to them, saying, Take courage! I Am! Stop being afraid!^(A)

²⁸ And Peter answered Him, Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.

²⁹ He said, Come! So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and he came toward Jesus.

³⁰ But when he perceived and felt the strong wind, he was frightened, and as he began to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me [from death]!

³¹ Instantly Jesus reached out His hand and caught and held him, saying to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?

³² And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

³³ And those in the boat knelt and worshiped Him, saying, Truly You are the Son of God!