Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Vision of the Plumb Line
7 Thus He showed me: Behold, the Lord stood on a wall made with a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand. 8 And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”
And I said, “A plumb line.”
Then the Lord said:
“Behold, (A)I am setting a plumb line
In the midst of My people Israel;
(B)I will not pass by them anymore.
9 (C)The [a]high places of Isaac shall be desolate,
And the [b]sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste.
(D)I will rise with the sword against the house of Jeroboam.”
Amaziah’s Complaint
10 Then Amaziah the (E)priest of (F)Bethel sent to (G)Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to [c]bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos has said:
‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
And Israel shall surely be led away (H)captive
From their own land.’ ”
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos:
“Go, you seer!
Flee to the land of Judah.
There eat bread,
And there prophesy.
13 But (I)never again prophesy at Bethel,
(J)For it is the king’s [d]sanctuary,
And it is the royal [e]residence.”
14 Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah:
8 I will hear what God the Lord will speak,
For He will speak peace
To His people and to His saints;
But let them not turn back to [a]folly.
9 Surely (A)His salvation is near to those who fear Him,
(B)That glory may dwell in our land.
10 Mercy and truth have met together;
(C)Righteousness and peace have kissed.
11 Truth shall spring out of the earth,
And righteousness shall look down from heaven.
12 (D)Yes, the Lord will give what is good;
And our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before Him,
And shall make His footsteps our pathway.
Redemption in Christ
3 (A)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as (B)He chose us in Him (C)before the foundation of the world, that we should (D)be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 (E)having predestined us to (F)adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, (G)according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, (H)by which He [a]made us accepted in (I)the Beloved.
7 (J)In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to (K)the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and [b]prudence, 9 (L)having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure (M)which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of (N)the fullness of the times (O)He might gather together in one (P)all things in Christ, [c]both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 (Q)In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to (R)the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 (S)that we (T)who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard (U)the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, (V)you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 (W)who[d] is the [e]guarantee of our inheritance (X)until the redemption of (Y)the purchased possession, (Z)to the praise of His glory.
John the Baptist Beheaded(A)
14 (B)Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. And he said, “John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore (C)these powers are at work in him.”
15 (D)Others said, “It is Elijah.”
And others said, “It is [a]the Prophet, (E)or like one of the prophets.”
16 (F)But when Herod heard, he said, “This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!” 17 For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; for he had married her. 18 Because John had said to Herod, (G)“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
19 Therefore Herodias [b]held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; 20 for Herod (H)feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he [c]did many things, and heard him gladly.
21 (I)Then an opportune day came when Herod (J)on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee. 22 And when Herodias’ daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, “Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” 23 He also swore to her, (K)“Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”
24 So she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?”
And she said, “The head of John the Baptist!”
25 Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
26 (L)And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her. 27 Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in prison, 28 brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and (M)took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.