Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
33 [a]Teach me, O Lord, the way of your decrees,
and I will follow it to the end.[b]
34 Give me understanding, and I will observe your law
and obey it with all my heart.[c]
35 Guide me in the way of your precepts,
for in them is my delight.
36 Dispose my heart to follow your statutes
and to flee selfish gain.
37 Turn my eyes away from what is unimportant,
and let me live in your way.
38 Fulfill your word to your servant,
so that you may be feared.[d]
39 Let me escape the disgrace that I dread,
for your judgments are good.
40 See, I long for your commandments;
in your righteousness preserve my life.
Waw
Chapter 24[a]
Allegory of the Boiling Pot. 1 In the ninth year, on the tenth day of the tenth month, this word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, write down the date of this day. For the king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. 3 Therefore, propose this parable to this tribe of rebels and say to them: Thus says the Lord God:
Set up the cooking pot on the fire
and pour in some water.
4 Put pieces of meat into it,
all the choice pieces, the leg and the shoulder;
fill it with choice bones.
5 Take the choicest animal from the flock,
and pile the wood beneath it.
Cook it thoroughly
and boil the bones in it.
6 Therefore, thus says the Lord God:
Woe to the bloody city,
the pot whose rust is in it,
the rust that cannot be removed.
Empty it piece by piece,
and do not bother casting lots.
7 For the blood she shed is in her midst;
she has poured it on a bare rock.
She did not pour it on the ground
where the soil would cover it.[b]
8 To stir up anger and take revenge,
I placed her blood on the bare rock
so that it would not be covered.
9 Therefore, thus says the Lord God:
Woe to the city running with blood.
I plan to build a great fire.
10 Heap on the wood,
and kindle the fire.
Mix in the spices,
and let the bones be thoroughly burned.
11 Stand the empty pot on the coals
so that it may become red-hot,
until the copper glows
and the filth inside it melts,
and its rust is consumed.
12 Yet not even with fire
will its rust disappear.
13 And when I expended my efforts
to cleanse you of your filthy lewdness,
you did not allow yourself
to be purged of your filth.
Now you shall not again be cleansed
until I have exhausted my anger upon you.
14 I, the Lord, have spoken. The time is coming, and I will take action. I will not refrain, nor will I spare, nor will I relent. You will be judged by your conduct and by what you have done, says the Lord God.
11 Characteristic Traits of an Apostle. I have been very foolish, but it was you who drove me to it. I should have been commended by you, for in no way did I prove to be inferior to those super-apostles, even though I am nothing. 12 The traits of a true apostle were evident in what I did in your presence: perseverance, signs, wonders, and mighty deeds. 13 How then have you been less privileged than the other Churches, except that I myself did not place a burden on you? Forgive me for being so unfair!
14 Now I am getting ready to come to you for a third time, and I do not intend to be a burden to you. What I want is not your money, but you yourselves. Children are not expected to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. 15 I will be happy to spend and be spent for you. Are you going to love me less because I love you so much more?
16 In any case, let it be assumed that I myself did not prove to be a burden to you. However, you may say that I was crafty and took you in by a trick. 17 Did I take advantage of you through any of those I sent to you? 18 I urged Titus to come to you, and I sent a brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did not he and I walk in the same Spirit, in the same footsteps?
19 There Will Be No More Forgiveness. Have you been supposing all this time that we have been defending ourselves before you? Not at all! We have been speaking in Christ and in the presence of God, my dear ones, doing all things to build you up. 20 I fear that when I come I may find you different from what I wish you to be, and that you may find me different from what you wish me to be.
I am afraid that this will lead to quarreling, jealousy, anger, factions, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. 21 I fear that when I come back my God may humiliate me in your presence and that I may have to mourn over many who previously sinned and have not repented of the impurity, immorality, and licentiousness in which they have indulged.
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