Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Taw
169 Let my cry come before you, O Yahweh;
give me understanding according to your word.
170 Let my plea come before you;
Deliver me according to your word.[a]
171 Let my lips pour out praise,
because you teach me your statutes.
172 Let my tongue sing of your word,[b]
because all your commands are right.
173 Let your hand be my help,[c]
because I have chosen your precepts.
174 I long for your salvation, O Yahweh,
and your law is my delight.
175 Let my soul[d] live that it may praise you,
and let your ordinances help me.
176 I have wandered like a lost sheep; seek your servant,
because I do not forget your commands.
A Man of God Proclaims Judgment against the False Altar
13 Suddenly a man of God from Judah came to Bethel, by the word of Yahweh, while Jeroboam was standing at the altar to offer incense. 2 Then he proclaimed against the altar by the word of Yahweh and said, “O altar, altar, thus says Yahweh: ‘Look, a son will be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall burn on you.’”
3 He gave a sign on that day, saying, “This is the sign that Yahweh has predetermined: Look, this altar will be torn apart, and the ashes that are on it will be poured out.”
4 It happened at the moment the king heard the word of the man of God that he cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him!” But his hand which he stretched out to him was paralyzed, and he was not able to draw it back to himself. 5 Then the altar was torn apart and the ashes from the altar poured out according to the sign which the man of God had announced by the word of Yahweh. 6 Then the king responded and said to the man of God, “Please entreat the favor of Yahweh your God, and pray for me that my hand may return to me.” So the man of God entreated the face of Yahweh, and the hand of the king returned to him, as it was in the beginning. 7 Then the king spoke to the man of God, “Come with me to the house and refresh yourself, that I may give you a gift.” 8 Then the man of God said to the king, “Even if you give to me half of your house I will not come with you, nor will I eat bread or drink water in this place, 9 for the word of Yahweh has commanded me, saying, ‘You shall not eat bread nor drink water, and you shall not return on the way that you came.’” 10 So he went another way, and he did not return by the way on which he had come to Bethel.
The Entire World Guilty of Sin
9 What then? Do we have an advantage? Not at all. For we have already charged both Jews and Greeks are all under sin, 10 just as it is written,
“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned aside together; they have become worthless;
There is no one who practices kindness;
there is not even one.[a]
13 Their throat is an opened grave;
they deceive with their tongues;
the venom of asps is under their lips,[b]
14 whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.[c]
15 Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 destruction and distress are in their paths,
17 and they have not known the way of peace.[d]
18 The fear of God is not before their eyes.”[e]
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those under the law, in order that every mouth may be closed and the whole world may become accountable to God. 20 For by the works of the law no person will be declared righteous[f] before him, for through the law comes knowledge of sin.
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