Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

God Himself Is Judge

A Psalm of ^(A)Asaph.

Prophecy Against Jeroboam

14 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. ² And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Arise, and disguise yourself, that it not be known that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to ^(A)Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, ^(B)who said of me that I should be king over this people. ^3 (C)Take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what shall happen to the child.”

⁴ Jeroboam's wife did so. She arose and went to ^(D)Shiloh and came to the house of ^(E)Ahijah. Now ^(F)Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age. ⁵ And the Lord said to ^(G)Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to enquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus shall you say to her.”

When she came, she pretended to be another woman. ⁶ But when ^(H)Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another? For I am charged with unbearable news for you. ⁷ Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ^(I)“Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over my people Israel ⁸ and ^(J)tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, and yet you have not been ^(K)like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my eyes, ⁹ but you have done evil above all who were before you and have gone and ^(L)made for yourself other gods and ^(M)metal images, provoking me to anger, and ^(N)have cast me behind your back, ¹⁰ therefore behold, I will bring harm upon the house of Jeroboam and ^(O)will cut off from Jeroboam every male, ^(P)both bond and free in Israel, and ^(Q)will burn up the house of Jeroboam, as a man burns up dung until it is all gone. ^11 (R)Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat, for the Lord has spoken it.”’ ¹² Arise therefore, go to your house. ^(S)When your feet enter the city, the child shall die. ¹³ And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him ^(T)there is found something pleasing to the Lord, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. ^14 (U)Moreover, the Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam today. And henceforth, ¹⁵ the Lord will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water, and ^(V)root up Israel out of ^(W)this good land that he gave to their fathers and scatter them ^(X)beyond the Euphrates, because they have made their ^(Y)Asherim, provoking the Lord to anger. ¹⁶ And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and made Israel to sin.”

¹⁷ Then Jeroboam's wife arose and departed and came to ^(Z)Tirzah. And ^(AA)as she came to the threshold of the house, the child died. ¹⁸ And all Israel buried him and mourned for him, ^(AB)according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the prophet.

Christ Jesus Came to Save Sinners

¹² I thank him ^(A)who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, ^(B)appointing me to his service, ¹³ though formerly I was a blasphemer, ^(C)persecutor, and insolent opponent. But ^(D)I received mercy ^(E)because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, ¹⁴ and ^(F)the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the ^(G)faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ The saying is ^(H)trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus ^(I)came into the world to save sinners, ^(J)of whom I am the foremost. ¹⁶ But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. ¹⁷ To ^(K)the King of ages, ^(L)immortal, ^(M)invisible, ^(N)the only God, ^(O)be honour and glory for ever and ever.^[a] Amen.

¹⁸ This charge ^(P)I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with ^(Q)the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may ^(R)wage the good warfare, ^19 (S)holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have ^(T)made shipwreck of their faith, ²⁰ among whom are ^(U)Hymenaeus and ^(V)Alexander, whom I ^(W)have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to ^(X)blaspheme.