Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
7 Then the Lord gave me a third vision. He was standing by a wall. It had been built very straight, all the way up and down. He was holding a plumb line. 8 The Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?”
“A plumb line,” I replied.
Then the Lord said, “Look at what I am doing. I am hanging a plumb line next to my people Israel. It will show how crooked they are. I will no longer spare them.
9 “The high places where Isaac’s people worship other gods will be destroyed.
The other places of worship in Israel will also be torn down.
I will use my sword to attack Jeroboam’s royal family.”
Amaziah Tells Amos to Stop Prophesying
10 Amaziah was priest of Bethel. He sent a message to Jeroboam, the king of Israel. He said, “Amos is making evil plans against you right here in Israel. The people in the land can’t stand to listen to what he’s saying. 11 Amos is telling them,
“ ‘Jeroboam will be killed by a sword.
The people of Israel will be taken away as prisoners.
They will be carried off from their own land.’ ”
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out of Israel, you prophet! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your living there. Do your prophesying there. 13 Don’t prophesy here at Bethel anymore. This is where the king worships. The main temple in the kingdom is located here.”
14 Amos answered Amaziah, “I was not a prophet. I wasn’t even the son of a prophet. I was a shepherd. I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. 15 But the Lord took me away from taking care of the flock. He said to me, ‘Go. Prophesy to my people Israel.’
8 I will listen to what God the Lord says.
He promises peace to his faithful people.
But they must not turn to foolish ways.
9 I know he’s ready to save those who have respect for him.
Then his glory can be seen in our land.
10 God’s truth and faithful love join together.
His peace and holiness kiss each other.
11 His truth springs up from the earth.
His holiness looks down from heaven.
12 The Lord will certainly give what is good.
Our land will produce its crops.
13 God’s holiness leads the way in front of him.
It prepares the way for his coming.
Praise God for His Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3 Give praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. Those blessings come from the heavenly world. They belong to us because we belong to Christ. 4 God chose us to belong to Christ before the world was created. He chose us to be holy and without blame in his eyes. He loved us. 5 So he decided long ago to adopt us. He adopted us as his children with all the rights children have. He did it because of what Jesus Christ has done. It pleased God to do it. 6 All those things bring praise to his glorious grace. God freely gave us his grace because of the One he loves. 7 We have been set free because of what Christ has done. Because he bled and died our sins have been forgiven. We have been set free because God’s grace is so rich. 8 He poured his grace on us. By giving us great wisdom and understanding, 9 he showed us the mystery of his plan. It was in keeping with what he wanted to do. It was what he had planned through Christ. 10 It will all come about when history has been completed. God will then bring together all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
11 We were also chosen to belong to him. God decided to choose us long ago in keeping with his plan. He works out everything to fit his plan and purpose. 12 We were the first to put our hope in Christ. We were chosen to bring praise to his glory. 13 You also became believers in Christ. That happened when you heard the message of truth. It was the good news about how you could be saved. When you believed, he stamped you with an official mark. That official mark is the Holy Spirit that he promised. 14 The Spirit marks us as God’s own. We can now be sure that someday we will receive all that God has promised. That will happen after God sets all his people completely free. All these things will bring praise to his glory.
John the Baptist’s Head Is Cut Off
14 King Herod heard about this. Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead! That is why he has the power to do miracles.”
15 Others said, “He is Elijah.”
Still others claimed, “He is a prophet. He is like one of the prophets of long ago.”
16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “I had John’s head cut off. And now he has been raised from the dead!”
17 In fact, it was Herod himself who had given orders to arrest John. He had him tied up and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias. She was the wife of Herod’s brother Philip. But now Herod was married to her. 18 John had been saying to Herod, “It is against the Law for you to be married to your brother’s wife.” 19 Herodias couldn’t forgive John for saying that. She wanted to kill him. But she could not, 20 because Herod was afraid of John. So he kept John safe. Herod knew John was a holy man who did what was right. When Herod heard him, he was very puzzled. But he liked to listen to John.
21 Finally the right time came. Herod gave a banquet on his birthday. He invited his high officials and military leaders. He also invited the most important men in Galilee. 22 Then the daughter of Herodias came in and danced. She pleased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want. I’ll give it to you.” 23 And he gave her his promise. He said to her, “Anything you ask for I will give you. I’ll give you up to half my kingdom.”
24 She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?”
“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.
25 At once the girl hurried to ask the king. She said, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a big plate right now.”
26 The king was very upset. But he thought about his promise and his dinner guests. So he did not want to say no to the girl. 27 He sent a man right away to bring John’s head. The man went to the prison and cut off John’s head. 28 He brought it back on a big plate. He gave it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 John’s disciples heard about this. So they came and took his body. Then they placed it in a tomb.
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