Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Idolatry Condemned
6 Thus says the Lord the King of Israel,
and his Redeemer the Lord of Hosts:
I am the first, and I am the last;
besides Me there is no God.
7 Who is like Me? Let him proclaim
and declare it, and recount it in order for Me,
since I appointed the ancient people.
And let them declare to them the things that are coming,
and shall come.
8 Do not fear, nor be afraid;
have I not told you from of old, and declared it?
You are My witnesses!
Is there a God besides Me?
There is no Rock; I know not any.
11 Teach me Your way, O Lord,
that I will walk in Your truth;
bind my heart
to fear Your name.
12 I will give You thanks, O Lord my God, with all my heart,
and I will glorify Your name forever.
13 For great is Your mercy toward me,
and You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
14 O God, insolent men have risen against me,
and bands of violent men have sought my life;
they have not set You before them.
15 But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion and gracious,
slow to anger, and abundant in mercy and truth.
16 Turn to me and have mercy on me;
give Your strength to Your servant,
and save the humble son of Your female servant.
17 Show me a sign of Your favor,
that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed
because You, Lord, have helped and comforted me.
12 Therefore, brothers, we are debtors not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if through the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. 15 For you have not received the spirit of slavery again to fear. But you have received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified with Him.
The Glory That Is to Be
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us. 19 The eager expectation of the creation waits for the appearance of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but by the will of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan within ourselves while eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For we are saved through hope, but hope that is seen is not hope, for why does a man still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
The Parable of the Weeds
24 He told them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 But when the shoots had sprung up and produced fruit, the weeds also appeared.
27 “So the servants of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’
28 “He said to them, ‘An enemy did this.’
“The servants said to him, ‘Will you then have us go and gather them up?’
29 “But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the weeds, you pull up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers: Gather up the weeds first and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ”
The Parable of the Weeds Explained
36 Then Jesus sent the crowds away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.”
37 He answered, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38 the field is the world, and the good seed are the sons of the kingdom. But the weeds are the sons of the evil one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels.
40 “Therefore as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this world. 41 The Son of Man shall send out His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who do evil, 42 and will throw them into a fiery furnace. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun[a] in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.