Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
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33 Lord, teach me your laws,
and I will always follow them.
34 Help me understand your teachings,
and I will follow them.
Obeying them will be my greatest desire.
35 Help me follow your commands,
because that makes me happy.
36 Give me the desire to follow your rules,
not the desire to get rich.
37 Don’t let me look at worthless things.
Help me live your way.
38 Do what you promised me, your servant,
so that people will respect you.
39 Take away the shame I fear.
Your laws are good.
40 See how much I want to obey your instructions!
Be good to me, and let me live.
The Pot and the Meat
24 The word of the Lord came to me. This was on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year of exile.[a] He said, 2 “Son of man,[b] write today’s date and this note: ‘On this date the army of the king of Babylon surrounded Jerusalem.’ 3 The people there refuse to obey me. I have a story with a message for them. Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says:
“‘Put the pot on the fire.
Put on the pot and pour in the water.
4 Put in the pieces of meat.
Put in every good piece, the thighs and the shoulders.
Fill the pot with the best bones.
5 Use the best animals in the flock.
Pile the wood under the pot,
and boil the pieces of meat.
Boil the soup until even the bones are cooked.
6 “‘So this is what the Lord God says:
It will be bad for Jerusalem.
It will be bad for that city of murderers.
Jerusalem is like a pot with rust on it,
and those spots of rust cannot be removed!
That pot is not clean, and the rust cannot be removed,
so the meat must be thrown out and not divided among the priests.
7 Jerusalem is like a pot with rust on it.
This is because the blood from the murders is still there!
She put the blood on the bare rock.
She did not pour the blood on the ground and cover it with dirt.[c]
8 I put her blood on the bare rock
so that it would not be covered.
I did this so that people would become angry
and punish her for killing innocent people.
9 “‘So this is what the Lord God says:
It will be bad for that city of murderers!
I will pile up plenty of wood for the fire.
10 Put plenty of wood under the pot.
Light the fire.
Cook the meat until it is well done.
Mix in the spices,[d]
and let the bones be burned up.
11 Then let the pot stand empty on the coals.
Let it become so hot that its stains[e] begin to glow.
Those stains will be melted away.
The rust will be destroyed.
12 “‘Jerusalem might work hard
to scrub away her stains.
But that ‘rust’ will not go away!
Only the fire of punishment will remove it.
13 “‘You sinned against me
and became stained with sin.
I wanted to wash you and make you clean,
but the stains would not come out.
I will not try washing you again
until my hot anger is finished with you!
14 “‘I am the Lord. I said your punishment would come, and I will make it happen. I will not hold back the punishment or feel sorry for you. I will punish you for the evil things you did. This is what the Lord God said.’”
Paul’s Love for the Believers in Corinth
11 I have been talking like a fool, but you made me do it. You people are the ones who should say good things about me. I am worth nothing, but those “super apostles” are not worth any more than I am! 12 When I was with you, I patiently did the things that prove I am an apostle—signs, wonders, and miracles. 13 So you received everything that the other churches have received. Only one thing was different: I was not a burden to you. Forgive me for this!
14 I am now ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you. I don’t want any of the things you own. I only want you. Children should not have to save things to give to their parents. Parents should save to give to their children. 15 So I am happy to give everything I have for you. I will even give myself for you. If I love you more, will you love me less?
16 It is clear that I was not a burden to you, but you think that I was tricky and used lies to catch you. 17 Did I cheat you by using any of the men I sent to you? You know I didn’t. 18 I asked Titus to go to you, and I sent our brother with him. Titus did not cheat you, did he? No, you know that his actions and his attitude were the same as ours.
19 Do you think that we have been defending ourselves to you all this time? No, we say these things in Christ and before God. You are our dear friends, and everything we do is to make you stronger. 20 I do this because I am afraid that when I come, you will not be what I want you to be. And I am afraid that I will not be what you want me to be. I am afraid that I will find arguing, jealousy, anger, selfish fighting, evil talk, gossip, pride, and confusion there. 21 I am afraid that when I come to you again, my God will make me humble before you. I may have to cry over the loss of some who sinned before. Many of them have still not changed their hearts to be sorry for their evil lives, their sexual sins, and the shameful things they have done.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International