Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
10 And God saw their deeds—that they turned from their evil ways—and God changed his mind about the evil that he had said he would bring upon them, and he did not do it.[a]
Jonah Is Angry at Yahweh’s Compassion
4 And this[b] was greatly displeasing[c] to Jonah, and he became furious.[d] 2 And he prayed to Yahweh and said, “O Yahweh, was this not what I said[e] while I was in my homeland? Therefore I originally fled[f] to Tarshish, because I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and having great steadfast love,[g] and one who relents concerning calamity.[h] 3 And so then, Yahweh, please take my life from me, because for me death is better than life!” 4 And Yahweh said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”[i]
5 And Jonah went out from the city and sat down east of the city, and he made for himself a shelter there. And he sat under it in the shade, waiting to see[j] what would happen with the city. 6 And Yahweh God appointed a plant,[k] and he made it grow up over Jonah to be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. And Jonah was very glad[l] about the plant. 7 So God appointed a worm at daybreak[m] the next day, and it attacked the plant, and it withered. 8 And when the sun rose,[n] God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head and he grew faint. And he asked that he could die[o] and said, “My death is better than my life!” 9 So God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry[p] about the plant?” And he said, “It is right for me to be angry enough to die!”[q]
10 But Yahweh said, “You are troubled about the plant, for which you did not labor nor cause it to grow. It grew up in a night and it perished in a night![r] 11 And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, the great city, in which there are[s] more than one hundred and twenty thousand[t] people who do not know right from left,[u] plus many animals?”
A Song of God’s Majesty and Love
A praise of David.[a]
145 I will exalt you, my God, O king,
and I will bless[b] your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
3 Great is Yahweh, and very worthy of praise,
and his greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation will laud your works to another,
and will declare your mighty deeds.
5 On the splendor of the glory of your majesty,
and on your wonderful deeds, I will meditate.
6 And they will speak of the power of your awesome deeds,[c]
and I will tell of your greatness.[d]
7 They will utter [e] the renown of your abundant goodness,
and they will proclaim with joy your righteousness.
8 Yahweh is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger[f] and great in loyal love.
21 For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 But if it is to live in the flesh, this is fruitful work for me, and which I will prefer I do not know. 23 But I am hard pressed between the two options[a], having the desire to depart and to be with Christ, for this is very much better[b]. 24 But to stay on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. 25 And because I am[c] convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that what you can be proud of may increase in Christ Jesus because of me through my return again to you.
Stand Firm for the Gospel
27 Only lead your lives in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent I hear your circumstances[d], that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one soul contending side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not letting yourselves be intimidated in anything by your opponents, which is a sign of destruction to them, but of your salvation, and this from God, 29 because to you has been graciously granted on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer on behalf of him, 30 having the same struggle which you saw in me and now hear about in me.
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man—the master of the house—who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 And after[a] coming to an agreement with the workers for a denarius per day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace. 4 And to those people he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will give you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went. Going out[b] again about the sixth and ninth hour he did the same thing. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and[c] found others standing there and said to them, ‘Why are you standing here the whole day unemployed?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go also into the vineyard.’ 8 And when[d] evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their[e] wages, beginning from the last up to the first.’ 9 And when the ones hired about the eleventh hour came, they received a denarius apiece. 10 And when[f] the first came, they thought that they would receive more, and they also received a denarius apiece. 11 And when they[g] received it,[h] they began to complain[i] against the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last people worked one hour and you made them equal to us who have endured the burden of the day and the burning heat!’ 13 But he answered one of them and[j] said, ‘Friend, I am not doing you wrong. Did you not come to an agreement with me for a denarius? 14 Take what is yours and go! But I want to give to this last person the same as I gave[k] to you also. 15 Is it not[l] permitted for me to do whatever I want with what is mine? Or is your eye evil because I am generous?’ 16 Thus the last will be first and the first last.”
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