Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 101
The Good Ruler
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By David. A psalm.
The Righteousness of the Lord
1 I will sing about your mercy and justice.
To you, O Lord, I will make music.
The Righteousness of the King
2 I will act wisely, following the way that is honest.
When will you come to me?
Within my palace I will conduct myself with integrity.[a]
Righteousness in His Court
3 I will not tolerate an evil[b] cause in my sight.
I hate unfaithfulness and apostasy.[c]
It will not stick to me.
4 A perverted heart shall be kept far from me.
I will not acknowledge evil.
5 I will silence anyone who slanders his neighbor in secret.
I cannot tolerate anyone who has arrogant eyes and a proud heart.
6 My eyes will watch for the faithful in the land,
so that they can be seated with me.
Those who walk in the way of integrity will serve as my ministers.
7 Anyone who practices deceit will not sit inside my palace.
Anyone who is a liar will not stand in my sight.
8 Every morning I will silence all the wicked in the land,
in order to cut off every evildoer from the city of the Lord.
19 The herald said to him, “Tell Hezekiah what the great king, the king of Assyria, says.”
The Taunt
What are you relying on? 20 You say that you have the plan and power for war, but this is only words from your lips. So who are you trusting when you rebel against me? 21 Tell me, are you really trusting in Egypt as your staff, that splintered reed which will pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it? That’s what Pharaoh king of Egypt is for all those who trust in him.
22 And if you say to me, “We are trusting in the Lord our God,” didn’t Hezekiah remove his high places and his altars and tell Judah and Jerusalem, “You must bow down before this altar in Jerusalem”?
23 But now, make a bargain with my lord, the king of Assyria. I will give you two thousand horses if you can provide riders for them. 24 How will you resist one officer from among the least significant of my lord’s servants? You are trusting in Egypt for chariots and charioteers. 25 Have I now come up against this place without the Lord? The Lord said to me, “Go up against this land and destroy it.”
Isaiah’s Message to Hezekiah
19 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth. Then he went into the House of the Lord. 2 He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and the elders of the priests, dressed in sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz.
3 They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says. Today is a day of distress and rebuke and humiliation because children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to deliver them. 4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all the words of the herald,[a] whom his lord, the king of Assyria, sent to mock the living God, and he will rebuke him for the words which the Lord your God has heard, and you will lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant who are left.”
5 When the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Say this to your lord: This is what the Lord says. Do not be afraid of these words which you heard, with which the lackeys[b] of the king of Assyria blasphemed me. 7 See, I am going to put him into such a frame of mind that when he hears a certain report, he will return to his country, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”
The Rich Young Ruler
18 A certain ruler asked Jesus, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
19 Jesus asked him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good, except one—God. 20 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery. You shall not murder. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony. Honor your father and mother.’”[a]
21 “I have kept all these since I was a child,” he said.
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
23 But when the ruler heard these words, he became very sad, because he was very rich.
24 When Jesus saw that the man became very sad, he said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 Those who heard this said, “Then who can be saved?”
27 He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible for God.”
28 And Peter said, “Look, we have left our possessions[b] and followed you.”
29 He said to them, “Amen I tell you: Anyone who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30 will most certainly receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come, eternal life.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.