Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Psalmist’s Profession of Uprightness.
A Psalm of David.
101 I will (A)sing of mercy and [a]justice;
To You, Lord, I will sing praises.
2 I will (B)carefully attend to the [b]blameless way.
When will You come to me?
I will walk within my house in the [c](C)integrity of my heart.
3 I will set no (D)worthless thing before my eyes;
I hate the [d]work of those who (E)fall away;
It shall not cling to me.
4 A (F)perverse heart shall leave me;
I will know no evil.
5 Whoever secretly (G)slanders his neighbor, him I will [e]destroy;
I will not endure one who has a (H)haughty look and an arrogant heart.
6 My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me;
One who walks in a [f](I)blameless way is one who will serve me.
7 One who (J)practices deceit shall not dwell within my house;
One who speaks lies (K)shall not [g]maintain his position before me.
8 (L)Every morning I will [h](M)destroy all the wicked of the land,
So as to (N)eliminate from the (O)city of the Lord all those who do injustice.
Cities of Israel Filled with Strangers
24 (A)Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, [a](B)Avva, (C)Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of Israel. So they took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. 25 And at the beginning of their living there, they (D)did not fear the Lord; therefore the Lord sent lions among them that were killing some of them. 26 So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations whom you have taken into exile and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the custom of the God of the land; so He has sent lions among them, and behold, they are killing them because they do not know the custom of the God of the land.”
27 Then the king of Assyria issued commands, saying, “Take one of the priests there whom you led into [b]exile, and have [c]him go and live there; and have him teach them the custom of the God of the land.” 28 So one of the priests whom they had led into exile from Samaria came and lived in Bethel, and taught them how they were to fear the Lord.
29 But every nation was still making gods of its own, and they put them (E)in the houses of the high places which the people of Samaria had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived. 30 (F)The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31 and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and (G)the Sepharvites were burning their children in the fire to (H)Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of (I)Sepharvaim. 32 (J)They also feared the Lord and [d](K)appointed from their entire population priests of the high places, who acted for them in the houses of the high places. 33 They feared the Lord, yet they were serving their own gods in accordance with the custom of the nations from among whom they had been taken into exile.
34 To this day they act in accordance with the earlier customs: they do not fear the Lord, nor do they [e]follow their statutes, their ordinances, the Law, or the commandments which the Lord commanded the sons of Jacob, (L)whom He named Israel. 35 The Lord made a covenant with them and commanded them, saying, “(M)You shall not fear other gods, nor (N)bow down to them, nor (O)serve them, nor sacrifice to them. 36 But the Lord, (P)who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and with (Q)an outstretched arm, (R)Him you shall fear, and to Him you shall bow down, and to Him you shall sacrifice. 37 And the statutes, the ordinances, the Law, and the commandment which He wrote for you, (S)you shall take care to do always; and you shall not fear other gods. 38 The covenant that I have made with you, (T)you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. 39 But you shall fear the Lord your God; and He will save you from the hand of all your enemies.” 40 However, they did not listen, but they kept acting in accordance with their earlier custom. 41 (U)So while these nations feared the Lord, they also served their [f]idols; their children likewise and their grandchildren, just as their fathers did, they do to this day.
14 I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; 15 but [a]in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one should act in (A)the household of God, which is the (B)church of (C)the living God, the (D)pillar and support of the truth. 16 Beyond question, great is (E)the mystery of godliness:
He who was (F)revealed in the flesh,
Was [b](G)vindicated [c]in the Spirit,
(H)Seen by angels,
(I)Proclaimed among the nations,
(J)Believed on in the world,
(K)Taken up in glory.
Abandonment of Faith
4 But (L)the Spirit explicitly says that (M)in later times some will [d]fall away from the faith, paying attention to (N)deceitful spirits and (O)teachings of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars (P)seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, 3 who (Q)forbid marriage and advocate (R)abstaining from foods which (S)God has created to be (T)gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For (U)everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is (V)received with gratitude; 5 for it is sanctified by means of (W)the word of God and prayer.
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