Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Promised Faithfulness to the Lord

A Psalm of David.

⁹ Now ^(A)it came to pass in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it. ¹⁰ And at the end of three years they took it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is, ^(B)the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. ^11 (C)Then the king of Assyria carried Israel away captive to Assyria, and put them ^(D)in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, ¹² because they ^(E)did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, but transgressed His covenant and all that Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded; and they would neither hear nor do them.

¹³ And ^(F)in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. ¹⁴ Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; turn away from me; whatever you impose on me I will pay.” And the king of Assyria assessed Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. ¹⁵ So Hezekiah ^(G)gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king’s house. ¹⁶ At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave ^[a]it to the king of Assyria.

Sennacherib Boasts Against the Lord^(H)

¹⁷ Then the king of Assyria sent the ^[b]Tartan, the ^[c]Rabsaris, and the ^[d]Rabshakeh from Lachish, with a great army against Jerusalem, to King Hezekiah. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they had come up, they went and stood by the ^(I)aqueduct from the upper pool, ^(J)which was on the highway to the Fuller’s Field. ¹⁸ And when they had called to the king, ^(K)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the ^[e]scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to them.

A Good Servant of Jesus Christ

⁶ If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, ^(A)nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. ⁷ But ^(B)reject profane and old wives’ fables, and ^(C)exercise yourself toward godliness. ⁸ For ^(D)bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, ^(E)having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. ⁹ This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. ¹⁰ For to this end ^[a]we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, ^(F)who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. ¹¹ These things command and teach.

Take Heed to Your Ministry

¹² Let no one ^[b]despise your youth, but be an ^(G)example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, ^[c]in spirit, in faith, in purity. ¹³ Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to ^[d]doctrine. ^14 (H)Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy ^(I)with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. ¹⁵ Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. ¹⁶ Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.