Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁷ So He showed me, and behold, the Lord was standing ^[a]by a ^[b]vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand. ⁸ And the Lord said to me, “^(A)What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,

Amos Accused; Gives an Answer

¹⁰ Then Amaziah, the ^(G)priest of Bethel, sent word to ^(H)Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has ^(I)conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is unable to endure all his words. ¹¹ For this is what Amos says: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’” ¹² Then Amaziah said to Amos, “^(J)Go, you seer, flee to the land of Judah; and eat bread there and do your prophesying there! ¹³ But ^(K)do not prophesy at Bethel any longer, for it is a ^(L)sanctuary of the king and a royal ^[d]residence.”

¹⁴ Then Amos replied to Amaziah, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the ^(M)son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a ^[e]grower of sycamore figs. ¹⁵ But the Lord took me from ^[f]following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go ^(N)prophesy to My people Israel.’

^3 (A)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in ^(B)the heavenly places in Christ, ⁴ just as ^(C)He chose us in Him before ^(D)the foundation of the world, that we would be ^(E)holy and blameless before ^[a]Him. ^(F)In love ^5 [b]He ^(G)predestined us to ^(H)adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, ^(I)according to the good pleasure of His will, ^6 (J)to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He favored us in ^(K)the Beloved. ^7 (L)In ^[c]Him we have ^(M)redemption ^(N)through His blood, the ^(O)forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to ^(P)the riches of His grace ⁸ which He ^[d]lavished on ^[e]us. In all wisdom and insight ⁹ He ^[f](Q)made known to us the mystery of His will, ^(R)according to His good pleasure which He ^(S)set forth in Him, ¹⁰ regarding His plan of ^(T)the fullness of the times, ^(U)to bring all things together in Christ, things ^[g]in the heavens and things on the earth. ^11 [h]In Him we also ^(V)have obtained an inheritance, having been ^(W)predestined ^(X)according to the purpose of Him who works all things ^(Y)in accordance with the plan of His will, ¹² to the end that ^[i]we who were the first to hope in the ^[j]Christ would be ^(Z)to the praise of His glory. ¹³ In ^[k]Him, ^[l]you also, after listening to ^(AA)the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also ^[m]believed, you were ^(AB)sealed in ^[n]Him with ^(AC)the Holy Spirit of the promise, ¹⁴ who is a ^(AD)first installment of ^(AE)our inheritance, in regard to the ^(AF)redemption of ^(AG)God’s own possession, ^(AH)to the praise of His glory.

John’s Fate Recalled

^14 (A)And King Herod heard about it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “^(B)John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.” ¹⁵ But others were saying, “He is ^(C)Elijah.” And others were saying, “He is ^(D)a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” ¹⁶ But when Herod heard about it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”

¹⁷ For Herod himself had sent men and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of ^(E)Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. ¹⁸ For John had been saying to Herod, “^(F)It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹ And ^(G)Herodias held a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death, and could not do so; ²⁰ for ^(H)Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he had been protecting him. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; and yet he ^[a]used to enjoy listening to him. ²¹ An opportune day came when Herod, on his birthday, ^(I)held a banquet for his nobles and military commanders, and the leading people ^(J)of Galilee; ²² and when the daughter of ^(K)Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and ^[b]his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” ²³ And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you, up to ^(L)half of my kingdom.” ²⁴ And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” ²⁵ Immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” ²⁶ And although the king was very sorry, because of his oaths and ^[c]his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her. ²⁷ Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and beheaded him in the prison, ²⁸ and 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 about this, they came and carried away his body, and laid it in a tomb.