Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

8 When Sh’mu’el grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Isra’el. ² His firstborn was named Yo’el, while his second son was named Aviyah; they were judges in Be’er-Sheva. ³ However, his sons did not follow his way of life; they turned off it to pursue riches, so that they would take bribes to distort justice. ⁴ All the leaders of Isra’el gathered themselves together, approached Sh’mu’el in Ramah ⁵ and said to him, “Look, you have grown old, and your sons are not following your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” ⁶ Sh’mu’el was not pleased to hear them say, “Give us a king to judge us”; so he prayed to Adonai. ⁷ Adonai said to Sh’mu’el, “Listen to the people, to everything they say to you; for it is not you they are rejecting; they are rejecting me; they don’t want me to be king over them. ⁸ They are doing to you exactly what they have been doing to me, from the day I brought them out of Egypt until today, by abandoning me and serving other gods. ⁹ So do what they say, but give them a sober warning, telling them what kinds of rulings their king will make.”

¹⁰ Sh’mu’el reported everything Adonai had said to the people asking him for a king. ¹¹ He said, “Here is the kind of rulings your king will make: he will draft your sons and assign them to take care of his chariots, be his horsemen and be bodyguards running ahead of his chariots. ¹² He will appoint them to serve him as officers in charge of a thousand or of fifty, plowing his fields, gathering his harvest, and making his weapons and the equipment for his chariots. ¹³ He will take your daughters and have them be perfume-makers, cooks and bakers. ¹⁴ He will expropriate your fields, vineyards and olive groves — the very best of them! — and hand them over to his servants. ¹⁵ He will take the ten-percent tax of your crops and vineyards and give it to his officers and servants. ¹⁶ He will take your male and female servants, your best young men and your donkeys, and make them work for him. ¹⁷ He will take the ten-percent tax of your flocks, and you will become his servants. ¹⁸ When that happens, you will cry out on account of your king, whom you yourselves chose. But when that happens, Adonai will not answer you!”

6 Therefore, leaving behind the initial lessons about the Messiah, let us go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of turning from works that lead to death, trusting God, ² and instruction about washings, s’mikhah, the resurrection of the dead and eternal punishment. ³ And, God willing, this is what we will do.

⁴ For when people have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become sharers in the Ruach HaKodesh, ⁵ and tasted the goodness of God’s Word and the powers of the ‘olam haba — ⁶ and then have fallen away — it is impossible to renew them so that they turn from their sin, as long as for themselves they keep executing the Son of God on the stake all over again and keep holding him up to public contempt. ⁷ For the land that soaks up frequent rains and then brings forth a crop useful to its owners receives a blessing from God; ⁸ but if it keeps producing thorns and thistles, it fails the test and is close to being cursed;^[a] in the end, it will be burned.

⁹ Now even though we speak this way, dear friends, we are confident that you have the better things that come with being delivered. ¹⁰ For God is not so unfair as to forget your work and the love you showed for him in your past service to his people — and in your present service too. ¹¹ However, we want each one of you to keep showing the same diligence right up to the end, when your hope will be realized; ¹² so that you will not become sluggish, but will be imitators of those who by their trust and patience are receiving what has been promised.