Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Besides Me There Is No God
6 Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel
and (A)his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
(B)“I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
7 (C)Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.[a]
Let him declare and set it before me,
since I appointed an ancient people.
Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.
8 Fear not, nor be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and declared it?
(D)And you are my witnesses!
(E)Is there a God besides me?
There is no (F)Rock; I know not any.”
11 (A)Teach me your way, O Lord,
that I may (B)walk in your truth;
(C)unite my heart to fear your name.
12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
and I will glorify your name for ever.
13 (D)For great is your steadfast love towards me;
you have (E)delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
14 O God, insolent men have (F)risen up against me;
a band of ruthless men seeks my life,
and they do not set you before them.
15 But you, O Lord, are a God (G)merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
16 (H)Turn to me and be gracious to me;
give your strength to (I)your servant,
and save (J)the son of your maidservant.
17 (K)Show me a sign of your (L)favour,
that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
Heirs with Christ
12 So then, brothers,[a] we are debtors, (A)not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you (B)put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are (C)led by the Spirit of God are (D)sons[b] of God. 15 For (E)you did not receive (F)the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of (G)adoption as sons, by whom we cry, (H)“Abba! Father!” 16 (I)The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then (J)heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, (K)provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Future Glory
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time (L)are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for (M)the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation (N)was subjected to futility, not willingly, but (O)because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that (P)the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that (Q)the whole creation (R)has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have (S)the firstfruits of the Spirit, (T)groan inwardly as (U)we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, (V)the redemption of our bodies. 24 For (W)in this hope we were saved. Now (X)hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we (Y)wait for it with patience.
The Parable of the Weeds
24 He put another parable before them, saying, (A)“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds[a] among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants[b] of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, (B)‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, (C)Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”
The Parable of the Weeds Explained
36 Then he left the crowds and went into (A)the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, (B)“Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is (C)the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are (D)the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. (E)The harvest is (F)the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds (G)are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at (H)the close of the age. 41 (I)The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all (J)causes of sin and (K)all law-breakers, 42 (L)and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place (M)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then (N)the righteous will shine like the sun (O)in the kingdom of their Father. (P)He who has ears, let him hear.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.