Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Praise for the Lord’s Goodness.

A Psalm, a Song for the Sabbath day.

Amaziah Reigns over Judah

14 ^(A)In the second year of Joash son of Joahaz king of Israel, ^(B)Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah became king. ² He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. ³ He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, yet not like his father David; he acted in accordance with everything that his father Joash had done. ⁴ Only ^(C)the high places were not eliminated; ^(D)the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. ⁵ Now it came about, as soon as the kingdom was firmly in his hand, that he ^[a](E)killed his servants who had ^[b]killed the king, his father. ⁶ But he did not put the sons of ^[c]the murderers to death, in ^[d]obedience to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, as the Lord commanded, saying, “^(F)The fathers shall not be put to death for the sons, nor the sons be put to death for the fathers; but ^(G)each shall be put to death for his own sin.”

⁷ He ^[e]killed ten thousand of the Edomites in ^(H)the Valley of Salt, and took ^(I)Sela by war, and named it ^(J)Joktheel, as it is to this day.

^8 (K)Then Amaziah sent messengers to ^[f]Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “^(L)Come, let’s face each other in combat.” ⁹ But Jehoash king of Israel sent messengers to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “^(M)The thorn bush that was in Lebanon sent word to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son ^[g]in marriage.’ But a wild animal that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thorn bush. ^10 (N)You have indeed ^[h]defeated Edom, and ^(O)your heart ^[i]is elated. Enjoy the glory and stay home; for why should you get involved in trouble so that you would fall, you and Judah with you?”

¹¹ But Amaziah would not listen. So Jehoash king of Israel went up; and they faced each other, he and Amaziah king of Judah, at ^(P)Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. ¹² And Judah was defeated by Israel, and ^(Q)they fled, every man to his tent. ¹³ Then Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem and tore down the wall of Jerusalem from ^(R)the Gate of Ephraim to ^(S)the Corner Gate, ^[j]four hundred cubits. ¹⁴ And ^(T)he took all the gold and silver and all the utensils which were found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasuries of the king’s house, the hostages as well, and returned to Samaria.

Parable of the Sower and Soils

4 Again ^(A)He began to teach ^(B)by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that ^(C)He got into a boat on the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. ² And He was teaching them many things in ^(D)parables, and was saying to them in His teaching, ³ “Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; ⁴ as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. ⁶ And when the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. ⁷ Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. ⁸ Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much.” ⁹ And He was saying, “^(E)He who has ears to hear, ^[a]let him hear.”

¹⁰ As soon as He was alone, ^[b]His followers, along with the twelve disciples, began asking Him about the parables. ¹¹ And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but for ^(F)those who are outside, everything comes ^(G)in parables, ¹² so that ^(H)while seeing they may see, and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear, and not understand, otherwise they might return and it would be forgiven them.”

Explanation of the Parable

^13 (I)And He *said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? ¹⁴ The sower sows the word. ¹⁵ These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately ^(J)Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. ¹⁶ And in a similar way these are the ones sown with seed on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; ¹⁷ and yet they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution occurs because of the word, immediately they ^[c]fall away. ¹⁸ And others are the ones sown with seed among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, ¹⁹ but the worries of ^(K)the ^[d]world, and the ^(L)deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things enter and choke the word, and it ^[e]becomes unfruitful. ²⁰ And those are the ones sown with seed on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and ^(M)bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much.”