Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

God Keeps His Own

40 I did not give up waiting for the Lord. And He turned to me and heard my cry. ² He brought me up out of the hole of danger, out of the mud and clay. He set my feet on a rock, making my feet sure. ³ He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and will put their trust in the Lord.

⁴ How happy is the man who has made the Lord his trust, and has not turned to the proud or to the followers of lies. ⁵ O Lord my God, many are the great works You have done, and Your thoughts toward us. No one can compare with You! If I were to speak and tell of them, there would be too many to number.

⁶ You have not wanted gifts given on the altar in worship. You have opened my ears. You have not wanted burnt gifts or gifts to cover sins. ⁷ Then I said, “Look, I have come. It is written about me in the book. ⁸ I am happy to do Your will, O my God. Your Law is within my heart.”

¹¹ “Because Ephraim has made many altars for sin gifts, they have become altars for sinning. ¹² I wrote 10,000 of My Laws for him, but they think of them as something strange. ¹³ They give gifts to Me and eat the meat of the gifts, but the Lord is not pleased with them. Now He will remember their wrong-doing and punish them for their sins. They will return to Egypt. ¹⁴ Israel has forgotten his Maker and built great houses. And Judah has built many strong cities ready for battle. But I will send a fire upon its cities that will destroy its beautiful houses.”

Israel’s Sin

10 Israel is a spreading vine full of fruit. The more fruit he had, the more altars he made. As his land became richer, he made his pillars for worship better. ² Their heart is not faithful, and now they must suffer for their sins. The Lord will break down their altars and destroy their pillars for worship.

Christian Living

13 Keep on loving each other as Christian brothers. ² Do not forget to be kind to strangers and let them stay in your home. Some people have had angels in their homes without knowing it. ³ Remember those in prison. Think of them as if you were in prison with them. Remember those who are suffering because of what others have done to them. You may suffer in the same way.

⁴ Marriage should be respected by everyone. God will punish those who do sex sins and are not faithful in marriage.

⁵ Keep your lives free from the love of money. Be happy with what you have. God has said, “I will never leave you or let you be alone.” ^{(A) 6} So we can say for sure, “The Lord is my Helper. I am not afraid of anything man can do to me.” ^(B)

⁷ Remember your leaders who first spoke God’s Word to you. Think of how they lived, and trust God as they did. ⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

⁹ Do not let the many strange teachings lead you in the wrong way. Our hearts are made strong by God’s loving-favor. Food does not make our hearts strong. Those who obey laws about eating certain foods are not helped by them. ¹⁰ We have an altar from which those who work in the place of worship have no right to eat.

¹¹ The head religious leader takes the blood of animals into the holy place to give it on the altar for sins. But the bodies of the animals are burned outside the city. ¹² It was the same with Jesus. He suffered and died outside the city so His blood would make the people clean from sin. ¹³ So let us go to Him outside the city to share His shame. ¹⁴ For there is no city here on earth that will last forever. We are looking for the one that is coming. ¹⁵ Let us give thanks all the time to God through Jesus Christ. Our gift to Him is to give thanks. Our lips should always give thanks to His name. ¹⁶ Remember to do good and help each other. Gifts like this please God.