Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Song of Praise to God Coming in Judgment^(A)

Micah’s Idolatry

17 Now there was a man from the mountains of Ephraim, whose name was ^(A)Micah. ² And he said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, and on which you ^(B)put a curse, even saying it in my ears—here is the silver with me; I took it.”

And his mother said, ^(C)“May you be blessed by the Lord, my son!” ³ So when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, “I had wholly dedicated the silver from my hand to the Lord for my son, to ^(D)make a carved image and a molded image; now therefore, I will return it to you.” ⁴ Thus he returned the silver to his mother. Then his mother ^(E)took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the silversmith, and he made it into a carved image and a molded image; and they were in the house of Micah.

⁵ The man Micah had a ^(F)shrine, and made an ^(G)ephod and ^(H)household^[a] idols; and he consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. ^6 (I)In those days there was no king in Israel; ^(J)everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Diotrephes and Demetrius

⁹ I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. ¹⁰ Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, ^(A)prating^[a] against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.

¹¹ Beloved, ^(B)do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. ^(C)He who does good is of God, ^[b]but he who does evil has not seen ^(D)God.

¹² Demetrius ^(E)has a good testimony from all, and from the truth itself. And we also ^[c]bear witness, ^(F)and you know that our testimony is true.