Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for Mercy
A song for going up to worship.
130 Lord, I am in great trouble,
so I call out to you.
2 Lord, hear my voice;
listen to my prayer for help.
3 Lord, if you punished people for all their sins,
no one would be left, Lord.
4 But you forgive us,
so you are respected.
5 I wait for the Lord to help me,
and I trust his word.
6 I wait for the Lord to help me
more than night watchmen wait for the dawn,
more than night watchmen wait for the dawn.
7 People of Israel, put your hope in the Lord
because he is loving
and able to save.
8 He will save Israel
from all their sins.
The Passover Celebration
30 King Hezekiah sent messages to all the people of Israel and Judah, and he wrote letters to the people of Ephraim and Manasseh. Hezekiah invited all these people to come to the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover for the Lord, the God of Israel. 2 King Hezekiah, his officers, and all the people in Jerusalem agreed to celebrate the Passover in the second month. 3 They could not celebrate it at the normal time, because not enough priests had made themselves ready to serve the Lord, and the people had not yet gathered in Jerusalem. 4 This plan satisfied King Hezekiah and all the people. 5 So they made an announcement everywhere in Israel, from Beersheba to Dan,[a] telling the people to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover for the Lord, the God of Israel. For a long time most of the people had not celebrated the Passover as the law commanded. 6 At the king’s command, the messengers took letters from him and his officers all through Israel and Judah. This is what the letters said:
People of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. Then God will return to you who are still alive, who have escaped from the kings of Assyria. 7 Don’t be like your ancestors or your relatives. They turned against the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so he caused other people to be disgusted with them. You know this is true. 8 Don’t be stubborn as your ancestors were, but obey the Lord willingly. Come to the Temple, which he has made holy forever. Serve the Lord your God so he will not be angry with you. 9 Come back to the Lord. Then the people who captured your relatives and children will be kind to them and will let them return to this land. The Lord your God is kind and merciful. He will not turn away from you if you return to him.
10 The messengers went to every town in Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the way to Zebulun, but the people laughed at them and made fun of them. 11 But some men from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun were sorry for what they had done and went to Jerusalem. 12 And God united all the people of Judah in obeying King Hezekiah and his officers, because their command had come from the Lord.
10 But those who depend on following the law to make them right are under a curse, because the Scriptures say, “Anyone will be cursed who does not always obey what is written in the Book of the Law.”[a] 11 Now it is clear that no one can be made right with God by the law, because the Scriptures say, “Those who are right with God will live by faith.”[b] 12 The law is not based on faith. It says, “A person who obeys these things will live because of them.”[c] 13 Christ took away the curse the law put on us. He changed places with us and put himself under that curse. It is written in the Scriptures, “Anyone whose body is displayed on a tree[d] is cursed.” 14 Christ did this so that God’s blessing promised to Abraham might come through Jesus Christ to those who are not Jews. Jesus died so that by our believing we could receive the Spirit that God promised.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.