Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Lord, Give Our Riches Back
A song for going up to worship.
126 When the Lord gave the riches back to Jerusalem,
it seemed as if we were dreaming.
2 Then we were filled with laughter,
and we sang happy songs.
Then the other nations said,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us,
and we are very glad.
4 Lord, give us back our riches again.
Do this as you bring streams to the desert.
5 Those who cry as they plant crops
will sing at harvesttime.
6 Those who cry
as they carry out the seeds
will return singing
and carrying bundles of grain.
False Prophets
9 A message to the prophets:
My heart is broken.
All my bones shake.
I’m like a man who is drunk.
I’m like a man who has been overcome with wine.
This is because of the Lord
and his holy words.
10 The land of Judah is full of people who are guilty of adultery.
Because of this, the Lord cursed the land.
And it has become very dry.
The pastures have dried up.
The people are evil.
They use their power in the wrong way.
11 “Both the prophets and the priests are evil.
I have seen them doing evil things even in my own Temple,” says the Lord.
12 “So they will be in danger.
They will be forced into darkness.
There they will be defeated.
I will bring disaster on them.
At that time I will punish those prophets and priests,” says the Lord.
13 “I saw the prophets of Samaria
do something wrong.
I saw those prophets prophesy by the false god Baal.
And they led my people, the Israelites, away.
14 And I have seen the prophets of Jerusalem
do some terrible things.
These prophets are guilty of adultery
and live by lies.
They encourage evil people to keep on doing evil.
So the people don’t stop sinning.
All of those people are like the city of Sodom.
The people of Jerusalem are like the city of Gomorrah to me!”
15 So this is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says about the prophets:
“I will make those prophets eat bitter food.
I will make them drink poisoned water.
This is because the prophets of Jerusalem spread wickedness
through the whole country.”
The Priest Melchizedek
7 Melchizedek[a] was the king of Salem and a priest for the Most High God. He met Abraham when Abraham was coming back after defeating the kings. When they met, Melchizedek blessed Abraham. 2 And Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything he had brought back from the battle. First, Melchizedek’s name means “king of goodness.” Also, he is king of Salem, which means “king of peace.” 3 No one knows who Melchizedek’s father or mother was.[b] No one knows where he came from. And no one knows when he was born or when he died. Melchizedek is like the Son of God; he continues being a priest forever.
4 You can see that Melchizedek was very great. Abraham, the great father, gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything that Abraham won in battle. 5 Now the law says that those in the tribe of Levi who become priests must get a tenth from the people. The priests collect it from their own people, even though the priests and the people are both from the family of Abraham. 6 Melchizedek was not from the tribe of Levi. But he got a tenth from Abraham. And he blessed Abraham, the man who had God’s promises. 7 And everyone knows that the more important person blesses the less important person. 8 Those priests get a tenth, but they are only men who live and then die. But Melchizedek, who got a tenth from Abraham, continues living, as the Scripture says. 9 It is Levi who gets a tenth from the people. But we might even say that when Abraham paid Melchizedek a tenth, then Levi also paid it. 10 Levi was not yet born. But Levi was in the body of his ancestor Abraham when Melchizedek met Abraham.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.