Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
7 God of the Heavenly Armies, restore us
and show your favor,[a]
so we may be delivered.
8 You uprooted a vine from Egypt,
and drove out nations to transplant it.
9 You cleared the ground[b] so that its roots grew
and filled the land.
10 Mountains were covered by its shadows,
and the mighty cedars by its branches.
11 Its branches spread out to the Mediterranean[c] Sea
and its shoots to the Euphrates[d] River.
12 Why did you break down its walls
so that those who pass by pluck its fruits?[e]
13 Wild boars of the forest gnaw at it,
and creatures of the field feed on it.
Consequences of Israel’s Unfaithfulness
14 “Is Israel a slave, or was he born a servant?[a]
Why then has he become plunder?
15 Young lions roar at him, they cry out loudly.
They have made his land into a wasteland,
and his cities are destroyed
so they are without inhabitants.
16 Also, people from Memphis and Tahpanhes[b]
have broken[c] your skull.
17 You have done this to yourselves, have you not,
by forsaking the Lord your God, when he
is the one who led you on the way?
18 Now, what are you doing on the road to Egypt,
to drink the waters of the Nile?
And what are you doing on the road to Assyria,
to drink the waters of the Euphrates?
19 Your wickedness will be punished,
and you will be corrected due to your acts of apostasy.
Know and see that it’s evil and bitter for you
to forsake the Lord your God,
but the fear of me is not in you,”
declares the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies.
20 “For long ago I broke your yoke
and tore off your bonds,
But you said, ‘I won’t serve you!’
Instead, on every high hill
and under every green tree,
you bend down to commit fornication.
21 I planted you myself as a choice vine,
from the very best seed.[d]
How did you turn against me
into a degenerate and foreign vine?
22 Though you wash yourself with lye
and use much soap,
the stain of your guilt is still before me,”
declares the Lord God.
16 Therefore, let no one judge you in matters of food and drink or with respect to a festival, a New Moon, or Sabbath days.[a] 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the reality[b] belongs to the Messiah.[c] 18 Let no one who delights in humility and the worship of angels cheat you out of the prize by rejoicing about what he has seen.[d] Such a person is puffed up for no reason by his carnal mind. 19 He does not hold on to the head, from whom the whole body, which is nourished and held together by its joints and ligaments, grows as God enables it.
The New Life in the Messiah
20 If you have died with the Messiah[e] to the basic principles of the world,[f] why are you submitting to its decrees as though you still lived in the world? 21 “Don’t handle this! Don’t taste or touch that!” 22 All of these things will be destroyed as they are used, because they are based on human commands and teachings. 23 These things have the appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion, humility, and harsh treatment of the body, but they have no value against self-indulgence.
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