Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
2 “Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for (A)the Lord God[a] is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.”
3 (B)With joy you[b] will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4 (C)And you will say in that day:
Woe to Those at Ease in Zion
6 (A)“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion,
and to those who feel secure on (B)the mountain of Samaria,
(C)the notable men of (D)the first of the nations,
to whom the house of Israel comes!
2 Pass over to (E)Calneh, and see,
and from there go to (F)Hamath the great;
then go down to (G)Gath of the Philistines.
(H)Are you better than these kingdoms?
Or is their territory greater than your territory,
3 (I)O you who put far away the day of disaster
(J)and bring near the seat of violence?
4 “Woe to those (K)who lie on (L)beds of ivory
(M)and stretch themselves out on their couches,
and eat lambs from the flock
(N)and calves from the midst of the stall,
5 (O)who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp
and like David (P)invent for themselves instruments of music,
6 (Q)who drink wine in bowls
and (R)anoint themselves with the finest oils,
but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
7 (S)Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile,
and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.”
8 (T)The Lord God has sworn by himself, declares the Lord, the God of hosts:
Encouragement to Give Generously
8 We want you to know, brothers,[a] about the grace of God that has been (A)given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and (B)their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave (C)according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly (D)for the favor[b] of taking part in (E)the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they (F)gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 6 Accordingly, (G)we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you (H)this act of grace. 7 But as (I)you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you[c]—(J)see that you excel in this act of grace also.
8 (K)I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that (L)though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. 10 And in this matter (M)I give my judgment: (N)this benefits you, who (O)a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. 11 So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. 12 For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable (P)according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. 13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness 14 your abundance at the present time should supply (Q)their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. 15 As it is written, (R)“Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.