Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 16[a]
A prayer[b] of David.
16 Protect me, O God, for I have taken shelter in you.[c]
2 I say to the Lord, “You are the Lord,
my only source of well-being.”[d]
3 As for God’s chosen people who are in the land,
and the leading officials I admired so much[e]—
4 their troubles multiply;
they desire other gods.[f]
I will not pour out drink offerings of blood to their gods,[g]
nor will I make vows in the name of their gods.[h]
5 Lord, you give me stability and prosperity;[i]
you make my future secure.[j]
6 It is as if I have been given fertile fields
or received a beautiful tract of land.[k]
7 I will praise[l] the Lord who[m] guides[n] me;
yes, during the night I reflect and learn.[o]
8 I constantly trust in the Lord;[p]
because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 So my heart rejoices
and I am happy;[q]
my life is safe.[r]
10 You will not abandon me[s] to Sheol;[t]
you will not allow your faithful follower[u] to see[v] the Pit.[w]
11 You lead me in[x] the path of life.[y]
I experience absolute joy in your presence;[z]
you always give me sheer delight.[aa]
Elijah Confronts the King and His Commanders
1 After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel.[a] 2 Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria and was injured. He sent messengers with these orders,[b] “Go, ask[c] Baal Zebub,[d] the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury.”
3 But the angel of the Lord told Elijah the Tishbite, “Get up; go to meet the messengers from the king of Samaria. Say this to them: ‘You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are on your way to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub the god of Ekron.[e] 4 Therefore this is what the Lord has said, “You will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die!”’” So Elijah went on his way.
5 When the messengers returned to the king,[f] he asked them, “Why have you returned?” 6 They replied,[g] “A man came up to meet us. He told us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are sending for an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron.[h] Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.’”’” 7 The king[i] asked them, “Describe the appearance[j] of this man who came up to meet you and told you these things.” 8 They replied,[k] “He was a hairy[l] man and had a leather belt[m] tied around his waist.” The king[n] said, “He is Elijah the Tishbite.”
9 The king[o] sent a captain and his fifty soldiers[p] to retrieve Elijah.[q] The captain[r] went up to him while he was sitting on the top of a hill.[s] He told him, “Prophet,[t] the king says, ‘Come down!’” 10 Elijah replied to the captain,[u] “If I am indeed a prophet, may fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty soldiers!” Fire then came down[v] from the sky and consumed him and his fifty soldiers.
11 The king[w] sent another captain and his fifty soldiers to retrieve Elijah. He went up and told him,[x] “Prophet, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!’”[y] 12 Elijah replied to them,[z] “If I am indeed a prophet, may fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty soldiers!” Fire from God[aa] came down from the sky and consumed him and his fifty soldiers.
13 The king[ab] sent a third captain and his fifty soldiers. This third captain went up and fell[ac] on his knees before Elijah. He begged for mercy, “Prophet, please have respect for my life and for the lives of these fifty servants of yours. 14 Indeed,[ad] fire came down from the sky and consumed the two captains who came before me, along with their men.[ae] So now, please have respect for my life.” 15 The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Don’t be afraid of him.” So he got up and went down[af] with him to the king.
16 Elijah said to the king,[ag] “This is what the Lord has said, ‘You sent messengers to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. Is it because there is no God in Israel from whom you can seek a message? Therefore[ah] you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.’”[ai]
Heirs of Promise Are Not to Return to Law
8 Formerly when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods at all.[a] 9 But now that you have come to know God (or rather to be known by God), how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless[b] basic forces?[c] Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again?[d] 10 You are observing religious[e] days and months and seasons and years. 11 I fear for you that my work for you may have been in vain. 12 I beg you, brothers and sisters,[f] become like me, because I have become like you. You have done me no wrong!
Personal Appeal of Paul
13 But you know it was because of a physical illness that I first proclaimed the gospel to you, 14 and though my physical condition put you to the test, you did not despise or reject me.[g] Instead, you welcomed me as though I were an angel of God,[h] as though I were Christ Jesus himself![i] 15 Where then is your sense of happiness[j] now? For I testify about you that if it were possible, you would have pulled out your eyes and given them to me! 16 So then, have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?[k]
17 They court you eagerly,[l] but for no good purpose;[m] they want to exclude you, so that you would seek them eagerly.[n] 18 However, it is good[o] to be sought eagerly[p] for a good purpose[q] at all times, and not only when I am present with you. 19 My children—I am again undergoing birth pains until Christ is formed in you![r] 20 I wish I could be with you now and change my tone of voice,[s] because I am perplexed about you.
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