Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A miktam [a] by David.
16 Protect me, O God, because I take refuge in you.
2 I said to the Lord,
“You are my Lord. Without you, I have nothing good.”
3 Those who lead holy lives on earth
are the noble ones who fill me with joy.
4 Those who quickly chase after other gods multiply their sorrows.
I will not pour out their sacrificial offerings of blood
or use my lips to speak their names.
5 The Lord is my inheritance and my cup.
You are the one who determines my destiny.
6 Your boundary lines mark out pleasant places for me.
Indeed, my inheritance is something beautiful.
7 I will praise the Lord, who advises me.
My conscience warns me at night.
8 I always keep the Lord in front of me.
When he is by my side, I cannot be moved.
9 That is why my heart is glad and my soul rejoices.
My body rests securely
10 because you do not abandon my soul to the grave
or allow your holy one to decay.
11 You make the path of life known to me.
Complete joy is in your presence.
Pleasures are by your side forever.
Elijah and King Ahaziah of Israel
1 After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 During the rebellion King Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upstairs room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers ⌞to Ekron⌟. He had told them, “Go ask Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, if I will recover from this injury.”
3 Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah from Tishbe, “Meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and ask them, ‘Do you seek advice from Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, because ⌞you think⌟ there is no God in Israel? 4 This is what the Lord says: You will not get up from the bed you are lying on. Instead, you will die there.’ ” Then Elijah left.
5 When the messengers returned, the king asked them, “Why have you come back so soon?”
6 They told him that a man came to meet them and said to them, “Go back to the king who sent you. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do you send messengers to seek advice from Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, because ⌞you think⌟ there is no God in Israel? You will not get up from the bed you are lying on. Instead, you will die there.’ ”
7 The king asked them, “What was the man who told you this like?”
8 They replied, “He was hairy and had a leather belt around his waist.”
“That’s Elijah from Tishbe,” the king answered.
9 The king sent an army officer with 50 men to Elijah. When the officer found Elijah sitting on top of a hill, he told Elijah, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’ ”
10 Elijah answered the officer, “If I’m a man of God, fire will come from heaven and burn up you and your 50 men.” Then fire came from heaven and burned up the officer and his 50 men.
11 The king sent another officer with 50 men to Elijah. The officer said, “Man of God, this is what the king says: Come here right away!”
12 Elijah answered the officer, “If I’m a man of God, fire will come from heaven and burn up you and your 50 men.” Then God’s fire came from heaven and burned up the officer and his 50 men.
13 The king sent a third officer with 50 men. The officer of the third group went up the hill and knelt in front of Elijah. The officer begged him, “Man of God, please treat my life and the lives of these 50 servants of yours as something precious. 14 Fire has come from heaven and burned up the first two officers and their 100 men. But treat my life as something precious.”
15 The angel of the Lord told Elijah, “Go with him. Don’t be afraid of him.” So Elijah got up and went with him to the king. 16 Elijah told the king, “This is what the Lord says: You sent messengers to seek advice from Baalzebub, the god of Ekron. Is this because ⌞you think⌟ there is no God in Israel whose word you can seek? You will not get up from the bed you are lying on. Instead, you will die there.”
8 When you didn’t know God, you were slaves to things which are really not gods at all. 9 But now you know God, or rather, God knows you. So how can you turn back again to the powerless and bankrupt principles of this world? Why do you want to become their slaves all over again? 10 You religiously observe days, months, seasons, and years! 11 I’m afraid for you. Maybe the hard work I spent on you has been wasted.
What Happened to Your Positive Attitude?
12 Brothers and sisters, I beg you to become like me. After all, I became like you were.
You didn’t do anything wrong to me. 13 You know that the first time I brought you the Good News I was ill. 14 Even though my illness was difficult for you, you didn’t despise or reject me. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were God’s messenger [a] or Christ Jesus himself. 15 What happened to your positive attitude? It’s a fact that if it had been possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Can it be that I have become your enemy for telling you the truth?
17 These people ⌞who distort the Good News⌟ are devoted to you, but not in a good way. They don’t want you to associate with me so that you will be devoted only to them. 18 (Devotion to a good cause is always good, even when I’m not with you.)
19 My children, I am suffering birth pains for you again until Christ is formed in you. 20 I wish I were with you right now so that I could change the tone of my voice. I’m completely puzzled by what you’ve done!
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.