Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer of Someone Far from Home
A song for going up to worship.
120 When I was in trouble, I called to the Lord.
And he answered me.
2 Lord, save me from liars
and from those who plan evil.
3 You who plan evil, what will God do to you?
How will he punish you?
4 He will punish you with the sharp arrows of a warrior
and with burning coals of wood.
5 How terrible it is to live in the land of Meshech.
I have to live among the people of Kedar.
6 I have lived too long
with people who hate peace.
7 I want peace and try to talk peace,
but they want war.
11 This is what the Lord says about Jehoahaz son of Josiah. Jehoahaz became king of Judah after his father died. He has left this place. The Lord says, “He will never come back again. 12 He will die where those who captured him have taken him. He will not see this land again.”
Judgment Against Jehoiakim
13 “How terrible it will be for him who builds his palace by doing evil.
He cheats people so he can build its upper rooms.
He is making his own people work for nothing.
He is not paying them for their work.
14 He says, ‘I will build a great palace for myself.
I will have large upper rooms.’
So he builds the palace with large windows.
He uses cedar wood for the walls.
And he paints it red.
15 “Does having a lot of cedar in your house
make you a great king?
Your father was satisfied to have food and drink.
He did what was right and fair.
So everything went well for him.
16 He helped those who were poor and needy.
So everything went well for him.
That’s what it means to know God,” says the Lord.
17 “But your eyes only look for what you can get dishonestly.
You are always thinking about getting more for yourself.
You are even willing to kill innocent people to get it.
You are making it hard for people.
You even steal things from them.”
Jesus Accuses the Pharisees
37 After Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee asked Jesus to eat with him. So Jesus went in and sat at the table. 38 But the Pharisee was surprised when he saw that Jesus did not wash his hands[a] before the meal. 39 The Lord said to him, “You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the dish. But inside you are full of greed and evil. 40 You are foolish. The same One who made what is outside also made what is inside. 41 So give what is in your cups and dishes to the poor. Then you will be fully clean. 42 But how terrible for you Pharisees! You give God one-tenth of even your mint, your rue, and every other plant in your garden. But you forget to be fair to other people and to love God. These are the things you should do. And you should also continue to do those other things—like giving one-tenth. 43 How terrible for you Pharisees, because you love to get the most important seats in the synagogues. And you love people to show respect to you in the marketplaces. 44 How terrible for you, because you are like hidden graves. People walk on them without knowing it.”
Jesus Talks to Teachers of the Law
45 One of the teachers of the law said to Jesus, “Teacher, when you say these things, you are insulting us, too.”
46 Jesus answered, “How terrible for you, you teachers of the law! You make strict rules that are very hard for people to obey. But you yourselves don’t even try to follow those rules. 47 How terrible for you, because you build tombs for the prophets. But these are the prophets that your fathers killed! 48 And now you show that you approve of what your fathers did. They killed the prophets, and you build tombs for the prophets! 49 This is why in his wisdom God said, ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them. Some of my prophets and apostles will be killed, and others will be treated cruelly.’ 50 So you who live now will be punished for the deaths of all the prophets who were killed since the beginning of the world. 51 You will be punished for the killing of Abel and for the killing of Zechariah.[b] Zechariah was killed between the altar and the Temple. Yes, I tell you that you people who live now will be punished for them all.
52 “How terrible for you, you teachers of the law. You have hidden the key to learning about God. You yourselves would not learn, and you stopped others from learning, too.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.