Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
י YOD
73 (A)Your hands have made me and fashioned me;
Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.
74 (B)Those who fear You will be glad when they see me,
Because I have hoped in Your word.
75 I know, O Lord, (C)that Your judgments are [a]right,
And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.
76 Let, I pray, Your merciful kindness be for my comfort,
According to Your word to Your servant.
77 Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I may live;
For Your law is my delight.
78 Let the proud (D)be ashamed,
For they treated me wrongfully with falsehood;
But I will meditate on Your precepts.
79 Let those who fear You turn to me,
Those who know Your testimonies.
80 Let my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes,
That I may not be ashamed.
The Peril of False Teaching
4 “Moreover you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord:
“Will they fall and not rise?
Will one turn away and not return?
5 Why has this people (A)slidden back,
Jerusalem, in a perpetual backsliding?
(B)They hold fast to deceit,
(C)They refuse to return.
6 (D)I listened and heard,
But they do not speak aright.
(E)No man repented of his wickedness,
Saying, ‘What have I done?’
Everyone turned to his own course,
As the horse rushes into the battle.
7 “Even (F)the stork in the heavens
Knows her appointed times;
And the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow
Observe the time of their coming.
But (G)My people do not know the judgment of the Lord.
8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise,
(H)And the law of the Lord is with us’?
Look, the false pen of the scribe certainly works falsehood.
9 (I)The wise men are ashamed,
They are dismayed and taken.
Behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord;
So (J)what wisdom do they have?
10 Therefore (K)I will give their wives to others,
And their fields to those who will inherit them;
Because from the least even to the greatest
Everyone is given to (L)covetousness;
From the prophet even to the priest
Everyone deals falsely.
11 For they have (M)healed the hurt of the daughter of My people [a]slightly,
Saying, (N)‘Peace, peace!’
When there is no peace.
12 Were they (O)ashamed when they had committed abomination?
No! They were not at all ashamed,
Nor did they know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
In the time of their punishment
They shall be cast down,” says the Lord.
28 Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” 29 So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized (A)Gaius and (B)Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s travel companions. 30 And when Paul wanted to go in to the people, the disciples would not allow him. 31 Then some of the [a]officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater. 32 Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And (C)Alexander (D)motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people. 34 But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”
35 And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said: “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess [b]Diana, and of the image which fell down from [c]Zeus? 36 Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of [d]your goddess. 38 Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a [e]case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly. 40 For we are in danger of being [f]called in question for today’s uproar, there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering.” 41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.