Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

²³ The steps of a [good] man are directed and established by the Lord when He delights in his way [and He busies Himself with his every step].

²⁴ Though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord grasps his hand in support and upholds him.

²⁵ I have been young and now am old, yet have I not seen the [uncompromisingly] righteous forsaken or their seed begging bread.

²⁶ All day long they are merciful and deal graciously; they lend, and their offspring are blessed.

²⁷ Depart from evil and do good; and you will dwell forever [securely].

²⁸ For the Lord delights in justice and forsakes not His saints; they are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked [in time] shall be cut off.

²⁹ [Then] the [consistently] righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.

³⁰ The mouth of the [uncompromisingly] righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks with justice.

³¹ The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.

³² The wicked lie in wait for the [uncompromisingly] righteous and seek to put them to death.

³³ The Lord will not leave them in their hands, or [suffer them to] condemn them when they are judged.

³⁴ Wait for and expect the Lord and keep and heed His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land; [in the end] when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.

³⁵ I have seen a wicked man in great power and spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil,

³⁶ Yet he passed away, and behold, he was not; yes, I sought and inquired for him, but he could not be found.

³⁷ Mark the blameless man and behold the upright, for there is a happy end for the man of peace.

³⁸ As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together; in the end the wicked shall be cut off.

³⁹ But the salvation of the [consistently] righteous is of the Lord; He is their Refuge and secure Stronghold in the time of trouble.

⁴⁰ And the Lord helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they trust and take refuge in Him.

8 When Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel.

² Now the name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second, Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba.

³ His sons did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.

⁴ All the elders of Israel assembled and came to Samuel at Ramah

⁵ And said to him, Behold, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint us a king to rule over us like all the other nations.

⁶ But it displeased Samuel when they said, Give us a king to govern us. And Samuel prayed to the Lord.

⁷ And the Lord said to Samuel, Hearken to the voice of the people in all they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not be King over them.

⁸ According to all the works which they have done since I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking Me and serving other gods, so they also do to you.

⁹ So listen now to their voice; only solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.

¹⁰ So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked of him a king.

¹¹ And he said, These will be the ways of the king who shall reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots.

¹² He will appoint them for himself to be commanders over thousands and over fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest and to make his implements of war and equipment for his chariots.

¹³ He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers.

¹⁴ He will take your fields, your vineyards, and your olive orchards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.

¹⁵ He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants.

¹⁶ He will take your men and women servants and the best of your cattle and your donkeys and put them to his work.

¹⁷ He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves shall be his slaves.

¹⁸ In that day you will cry out because of your king you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not hear you then.

6 Therefore let us go on and get past the elementary stage in the teachings and doctrine of Christ (the Messiah), advancing steadily toward the completeness and perfection that belong to spiritual maturity. Let us not again be laying the foundation of repentance and abandonment of dead works (dead formalism) and of the faith [by which you turned] to God,

² With teachings about purifying, the laying on of hands, the resurrection from the dead, and eternal judgment and punishment. [These are all matters of which you should have been fully aware long, long ago.]

³ If indeed God permits, we will [now] proceed [to advanced teaching].

⁴ For it is impossible [to restore and bring again to repentance] those who have been once for all enlightened, who have consciously tasted the heavenly gift and have become sharers of the Holy Spirit,

⁵ And have felt how good the Word of God is and the mighty powers of the age and world to come,

⁶ If they then deviate from the faith and turn away from their allegiance—[it is impossible] to bring them back to repentance, for (because, while, as long as) they nail upon the cross the Son of God afresh [as far as they are concerned] and are holding [Him] up to contempt and shame and public disgrace.

⁷ For the soil which has drunk the rain that repeatedly falls upon it and produces vegetation useful to those for whose benefit it is cultivated partakes of a blessing from God.

⁸ But if [that same soil] persistently bears thorns and thistles, it is considered worthless and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.^(A)

⁹ Even though we speak this way, yet in your case, beloved, we are now firmly convinced of better things that are near to salvation and accompany it.

¹⁰ For God is not unrighteous to forget or overlook your labor and the love which you have shown for His name’s sake in ministering to the needs of the saints (His own consecrated people), as you still do.

¹¹ But we do [^[a]strongly and earnestly] desire for each of you to show the same diligence and sincerity [all the way through] in realizing and enjoying the full assurance and development of [your] hope until the end,

¹² In order that you may not grow disinterested and become [spiritual] sluggards, but imitators, behaving as do those who through faith (^[b]by their leaning of the entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness) and by practice of patient endurance and waiting are [now] inheriting the promises.