Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Third Description of Immanuel: The Branch From Jesse
11
A shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse,
and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him:
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 He will be delighted with the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
nor will he render decisions based on what he hears with his ears,
4 but with righteousness he will judge the poor,
and he will render fair decisions in favor of the oppressed on the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath from his lips he will put the wicked to death.
5 Righteousness will be the belt around his waist,
and faithfulness the belt around his hips.
6 The wolf will dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
the calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf together,
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow and the bear will graze together,
and their young ones will lie down together.
The lion will eat straw like the cattle.
8 The nursing child will play near a cobra’s hole,
and the weaned child will put his hand into a viper’s den.
9 They will not hurt or destroy anywhere on my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord,
as the waters cover the sea.
20 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, 21 “Separate yourselves from this assembly so that I may put an end to them instantly!”
22 But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will you be angry against the entire community?”
23 The Lord spoke to Moses: 24 “Tell the assembly, ‘Move away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram!’” 25 So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram. The elders of Israel followed him. 26 He told the assembly, “Move back from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins!” 27 So from every side, they moved away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrance to their tents with their wives, children, and little ones.
28 Moses said, “This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things and that all this was not just my idea.[a] 29 If these men die a death like everyone else and if they suffer the same fate that everyone does, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 But if the Lord creates something unheard of and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the grave,[b] you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.”
31 As soon as he finished speaking all these words, the ground beneath them split open. 32 The earth opened its mouth and swallowed up everyone who was with Korah, along with their households and all their possessions. 33 So they and everything that belonged to them went down alive into the grave. The earth closed up over them, and they disappeared from the midst of the assembly. 34 Hearing their screams, all the Israelites who were around them fled, because they said, “The earth will swallow us up too!” 35 Fire went out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred fifty men who offered the incense.
23 They set a day to meet with Paul, and even more of them came to the place where he was staying. From morning till evening he explained and testified about the kingdom of God. He also tried to convince them about Jesus, both from the Law of Moses and the Prophets. 24 Some were convinced by what he said, but others continued in their unbelief.
25 They were arguing with one another and began to leave after Paul made this one statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your[a] fathers through Isaiah the prophet:
26 Go to this people and say,
You will keep hearing and yet never understand;
you will keep seeing and yet never perceive.
27 For the heart of this people has grown dull,
their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their heart,
and turn, and I would heal them.[b]
28 “Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation from God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”[c]
30 For two whole years Paul stayed in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to visit him. 31 He was preaching the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without anyone stopping him.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.