Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 16
Confidence in the Lord
A Miktam of David.(A)
1 Protect me, God, for I take refuge in you.(B)
2 I[a] said to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have nothing good besides you.”[b](C)
3 As for the holy people who are in the land,(D)
they are the noble ones.
All my delight is in them.
4 The sorrows of those who take another god
for themselves will multiply;
I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
and I will not speak their names with my lips.(E)
5 Lord, you are my portion[c]
and my cup of blessing;
you hold my future.(F)
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me
in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.(G)
7 I will bless the Lord who counsels me(H)—
even at night when my thoughts trouble me.[d](I)
8 I always let the Lord guide me.[e]
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.(J)
9 Therefore my heart is glad
and my whole being rejoices;
my body also rests securely.(K)
10 For you will not abandon me to Sheol;(L)
you will not allow your faithful one to see decay.(M)
11 You reveal the path of life to me;
in your presence is abundant joy;(N)
at your right hand are eternal pleasures.(O)
Ahaziah’s Sickness and Death
1 After Ahab’s death, Moab(A) rebelled against Israel.(B) 2 Ahaziah(C) had fallen through the latticed window of his upstairs room in Samaria(D) and was injured. So he sent messengers, instructing them, “Go inquire of Baal-zebub,[a](E) the god of Ekron,(F) whether I will recover from this injury.”(G)
3 But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite,(H) “Go and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria(I) and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? 4 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: You will not get up from your sickbed; you will certainly die.’” Then Elijah left.
5 The messengers returned to the king, who asked them, “Why have you come back?”
6 They replied, “A man came to meet us and said, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and declare to him, “This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you’re sending these men to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore, you will not get up from your sickbed; you will certainly die.”’”
7 The king asked them, “What sort of man came up to meet you and spoke those words to you?”
8 They replied, “A hairy man with a leather belt around his waist.”(J)
He said, “It’s Elijah the Tishbite.”(K)
9 So King Ahaziah sent a captain with his fifty men(L) to Elijah. When the captain went up to him, he was sitting on top of the hill. He announced, “Man of God,(M) the king declares, ‘Come down!’”
10 Elijah responded to the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.(N)
11 So the king sent another captain with his fifty men to Elijah. He took in the situation[b] and announced, “Man of God, this is what the king says: ‘Come down immediately!’”
12 Elijah responded, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” So a divine fire[c] came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.
13 Then the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. The third captain went up and fell on his knees in front of Elijah and begged him, “Man of God,(O) please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious to you.(P) 14 Already fire has come down from heaven and consumed the first two captains with their companies, but this time let my life be precious to you.”
15 The angel of the Lord(Q) said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Don’t be afraid of him.”(R) So he got up and went down with him to the king.
16 Then Elijah said to King Ahaziah, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel for you to inquire of his will?—you will not get up from your sickbed; you will certainly die.’”
Paul’s Concern for the Galatians
8 But in the past, since you didn’t know God,(A) you were enslaved to things[a] that by nature are not gods. 9 But now, since you know God,(B) or rather have become known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless(C) elements?(D) Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? 10 You are observing special days, months, seasons, and years.(E) 11 I am fearful for you, that perhaps my labor for you has been wasted.
12 I beg you, brothers and sisters: Become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have not wronged me; 13 you know[b] that previously I preached the gospel to you because of a weakness of the flesh. 14 You did not despise or reject me though my physical condition was a trial for you.[c] On the contrary, you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus himself.
15 Where, then, is your blessing? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16 So then, have I become your enemy because I told you the truth?(F) 17 They court you eagerly, but not for good. They want to exclude you from me, so that you would pursue them. 18 But it is always good to be pursued[d] in a good manner—and not just when I am with you. 19 My children,(G) I am again suffering labor pains(H) for you until Christ is formed in you. 20 I would like to be with you right now and change my tone of voice, because I don’t know what to do about you.
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