Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
ה HE
33 (A)Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,
And I shall keep it to the end.
34 (B)Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law;
Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
35 Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
For I delight in it.
36 [a]Incline my heart to Your testimonies,
And not to (C)covetousness.
37 (D)Turn[b] away my eyes from (E)looking at worthless things,
And revive me in [c]Your way.
38 (F)Establish Your word to Your servant,
Who is devoted to fearing You.
39 Turn away my reproach which I dread,
For Your judgments are good.
40 Behold, I long for Your precepts;
Revive me in Your righteousness.
The Prophet’s Wife Dies
15 Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 16 “Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke; yet you shall (A)neither mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down. 17 Sigh in silence, (B)make no mourning for the dead; (C)bind your turban on your head, and (D)put your sandals on your feet; (E)do not cover your [a]lips, and do not eat man’s bread of sorrow.”
18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died; and the next morning I did as I was commanded.
19 And the people said to me, (F)“Will you not tell us what these things signify to us, that you behave so?”
20 Then I answered them, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 21 ‘Speak to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, (G)I will profane My sanctuary, [b]your arrogant boast, the desire of your eyes, the [c]delight of your soul; (H)and your sons and daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. 22 And you shall do as I have done; (I)you shall not cover your [d]lips nor eat man’s bread of sorrow. 23 Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; (J)you shall neither mourn nor weep, but (K)you shall pine away in your iniquities and mourn with one another. 24 Thus (L)Ezekiel is a sign to you; according to all that he has done you shall do; (M)and when this comes, (N)you shall know that I am the Lord God.’ ”
25 ‘And you, son of man—will it not be in the day when I take from them (O)their stronghold, their joy and their glory, the desire of their eyes, and [e]that on which they set their minds, their sons and their daughters: 26 that on that day (P)one who escapes will come to you to let you hear it with your ears? 27 (Q)On that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped; you shall speak and no longer be mute. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the Lord.’ ”
15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
(A)“How beautiful are the feet of those who [a]preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, (B)“Lord, who has believed our report?” 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
18 But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed:
(C)“Their sound has gone out to all the earth,
And their words to the ends of the world.”
19 But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says:
(D)“I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation,
I will move you to anger by a (E)foolish nation.”
20 But Isaiah is very bold and says:
(F)“I was found by those who did not seek Me;
I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me.”
21 But to Israel he says:
(G)“All day long I have stretched out My hands
To a disobedient and contrary people.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.