Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Branch Will Come From Jesse’s Family Line
11 Jesse’s family is like a tree that has been cut down.
A new little tree will grow from its stump.
From its roots a Branch will grow and produce fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on that Branch.
The Spirit will help him to be wise and understanding.
The Spirit will help him make wise plans and carry them out.
The Spirit will help him know the Lord and have respect for him.
3 The Branch will take delight
in respecting the Lord.
He will not judge things only by the way they look.
He won’t make decisions based simply on what people say.
4 He will always do what is right
when he judges those who are in need.
He’ll be completely fair
when he makes decisions about poor people.
When he commands that people be punished,
it will happen.
When he orders that evil people be put to death,
it will take place.
5 He will put on godliness as if it were his belt.
He’ll wear faithfulness around his waist.
6 Wolves will live with lambs.
Leopards will lie down with goats.
Calves and lions will eat together.
And little children will lead them around.
7 Cows will eat with bears.
Their little ones will lie down together.
And lions will eat straw like oxen.
8 A baby will play near a hole where cobras live.
A young child will put its hand into a nest
where poisonous snakes live.
9 None of those animals will harm or destroy anything or anyone
on my holy mountain of Zion.
The oceans are full of water.
In the same way, the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of the Lord.
20 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 21 “Separate yourselves from these people. Then I can put an end to all of them at once.”
22 But Moses and Aaron fell with their faces to the ground. They cried out, “God, you are the God who gives life and breath to all living things. Will you be angry with the whole community when only one man sins?”
23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, 24 “Tell the community, ‘Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’ ”
25 Moses got up. He went to Dathan and Abiram. The elders of Israel followed him. 26 Moses warned the community. He said, “Move away from the tents of these evil men! Don’t touch anything that belongs to them. If you do, the Lord will sweep you away because of all their sins.” 27 So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had already come out. They were standing at the entrances to their tents. Their wives, children and little ones were standing there with them.
28 Then Moses said, “What is about to happen wasn’t my idea. The Lord has sent me to do everything I’m doing. Here is how you will know I’m telling you the truth. 29 These men won’t die a natural death. Something will happen to them that doesn’t usually happen to people. If what I’m telling you doesn’t happen, then you will know that the Lord hasn’t sent me. 30 But the Lord will make something totally new happen. The ground will open its mouth and swallow them up. It will swallow up everything that belongs to them. They will be buried alive. When that happens, you will know that these men have disrespected the Lord.”
31 As soon as Moses finished saying all these words, what he had said came true. The ground under them broke open. 32 It opened its mouth. It swallowed up those men. In fact, it swallowed up everyone who lived in their houses. It swallowed all Korah’s men. And it swallowed up everything they owned. 33 They went down into the grave alive. Everything they owned went down with them. The ground closed over them and they died. And so they disappeared from the community. 34 All the Israelites around them heard their cries. They ran away from them. They shouted, “The ground is going to swallow us up too!”
35 Then the Lord sent down fire. It burned up the 250 men offering the incense.
23 They decided to meet Paul on a certain day. At that time even more people came to the place where he was staying. From morning until evening, he told them about God’s kingdom. Using the Law of Moses and the Prophets, he tried to get them to believe in Jesus. 24 Some believed what he said, and others did not. 25 They didn’t agree with one another. They began to leave after Paul had made a final statement. He said, “The Holy Spirit was right when he spoke to your people long ago. Through Isaiah the prophet the Spirit said,
26 “ ‘Go to your people. Say to them,
“You will hear but never understand.
You will see but never know what you are seeing.”
27 These people’s hearts have become stubborn.
They can barely hear with their ears.
They have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes.
They might hear with their ears.
They might understand with their hearts.
They might turn, and then I would heal them.’ (Isaiah 6:9,10)
28-29 “Here is what I want you to know. God has sent his salvation to the Gentiles. And they will listen!”
30 For two whole years Paul stayed there in a house he rented. He welcomed all who came to see him. 31 He preached boldly about God’s kingdom. He taught people about the Lord Jesus Christ. And no one could keep him from teaching and preaching about these things.
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