Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Oh, That My People Would Listen to Me

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)The Gittith.^[a] Of ^(B)Asaph.

Elijah Predicts a Drought

17 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of ^(A)Tishbe^[a] in Gilead, said to Ahab, ^(B)“As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, ^(C)before whom I stand, ^(D)there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” ² And the word of the Lord came to him: ³ “Depart from here and turn eastwards and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. ⁴ You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” ⁵ So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. ⁶ And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. ⁷ And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

The Widow of Zarephath

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to him, ⁹ “Arise, go to ^(E)Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” ¹⁰ So he arose and went to ^(F)Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there ^(G)gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” ¹¹ And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” ¹² And she said, ^(H)“As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” ¹³ And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. ¹⁴ For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” ¹⁵ And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. ¹⁶ The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

Walk in Love

5 ^(A)Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. ² And ^(B)walk in love, ^(C)as Christ loved us and ^(D)gave himself up for us, a ^(E)fragrant ^(F)offering and sacrifice to God.

³ But ^(G)sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness ^(H)must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. ⁴ Let there be ^(I)no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, ^(J)which are out of place, but instead ^(K)let there be thanksgiving. ⁵ For you may be sure of this, that ^(L)everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (^(M)that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. ^6 (N)Let no one ^(O)deceive you with empty words, for because of these things ^(P)the wrath of God comes upon ^(Q)the sons of disobedience. ⁷ Therefore ^(R)do not become partners with them; ⁸ for ^(S)at one time you were ^(T)darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. ^(U)Walk as children of light ⁹ (for ^(V)the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), ¹⁰ and ^(W)try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. ^11 (X)Take no part in the ^(Y)unfruitful ^(Z)works of darkness, but instead ^(AA)expose them. ¹² For ^(AB)it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. ¹³ But when ^(AC)anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, ¹⁴ for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,