Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
ט Teth
65 Lord, you have treated your servant well,
just as you promised.
66 Teach me good judgment and discernment,(A)
for I rely on your commands.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,(B)
but now I keep your word.
68 You are good,(C) and you do what is good;(D)
teach me your statutes.
69 The arrogant have smeared me with lies,(E)
but I obey your precepts with all my heart.(F)
70 Their hearts are hard and insensitive,(G)
but I delight in your instruction.(H)
71 It was good for me to be afflicted(I)
so that I could learn your statutes.
72 Instruction from your lips(J) is better for me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
Shishak’s Invasion
12 When Rehoboam had established his sovereignty and royal power,(A) he abandoned the law of the Lord—he and all Israel with him. 2 Because they were unfaithful to the Lord, in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, King Shishak(B) of Egypt went to war against Jerusalem(C) 3 with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 cavalrymen, and countless people who came with him from Egypt—Libyans,(D) Sukkiim, and Cushites. 4 He captured the fortified cities(E) of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.
5 Then the prophet Shemaiah(F) went to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who were gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak. He said to them, “This is what the Lord says: You have abandoned me; therefore, I have abandoned you to Shishak.”(G)
6 So the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is righteous.”(H)
7 When the Lord saw that they had humbled themselves, the Lord’s message came to Shemaiah: “They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them but will grant them a little deliverance.(I) My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak.(J) 8 However, they will become his servants so that they may recognize the difference between serving me and serving the kingdoms of other lands.”(K)
9 So King Shishak of Egypt went to war(L) against Jerusalem.(M) He seized the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and the treasuries of the royal palace. He took everything. He took the gold shields that Solomon had made.(N) 10 King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and committed them into the care of the captains of the guards[a] who protected the entrance to the king’s palace. 11 Whenever the king entered the Lord’s temple, the guards would carry the shields and take them back to the armory.[b] 12 When Rehoboam humbled himself, the Lord’s anger turned away from him, and he did not destroy him completely.(O) Besides that, conditions were good in Judah.(P)
7 Remember your leaders who have spoken God’s word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith.(A) 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.(B) 9 Don’t be led astray by various kinds of strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be established by grace and not by food regulations, since those who observe them have not benefited.(C) 10 We have an altar from which those who worship at the tabernacle do not have a right to eat.(D) 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the most holy place by the high priest(E) as a sin offering are burned outside the camp.(F) 12 Therefore, Jesus also suffered outside the gate,(G) so that he might sanctify[a] the people by his own blood. 13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing his disgrace.(H) 14 For we do not have an enduring city here; instead, we seek the one to come.(I) 15 Therefore, through him let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.(J) 16 Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.(K) 17 Obey your leaders[b] and submit to them, since they keep watch(L) over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. 18 Pray for us, for we are convinced that we have a clear conscience, wanting to conduct ourselves honorably in everything.(M) 19 And I urge you all the more to pray[c] that I may be restored to you very soon.
Benediction and Farewell
20 Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep(N)—through the blood of the everlasting covenant,(O) 21 equip[d] you with everything good to do his will, working in us what is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.[e](P) Amen.
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