Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
2 Behold, God is my [a]salvation: I will trust, and will not fear: for the Lord God is (A)my strength and song: he is also become my salvation.
3 Therefore with joy shall ye [b]draw waters out of the wells of salvation.
4 And ye shall say in that day, (B)Praise the Lord: call upon his Name: declare his works among the people: make mention of them, for his Name is exalted.
5 Sing unto the Lord, for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the world.
6 Cry out, and shout, [c]O inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy one of Israel in the midst of thee.
4 Hear this, O ye that [a]swallow up the poor, that ye may make the needy of the land to fail,
5 Saying, When will the [b]new month be gone, that we may sell corn? and the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, and make [c]the Ephah small and the shekel great, and falsify the weights by deceit?
6 That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for shoes: yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat.
7 The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely, I will never forget any of their works.
8 Shall not the land tremble for this, and everyone mourn, that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood, and it shall be cast out, and [d]drowned as by the flood of Egypt.
9 And in that day, saith the Lord God, I will even cause the [e]Sun to go down at noon: I will darken the earth in the clear day.
10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning: and all your songs into lamentation: and I will bring sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head: and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.
11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the Land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the word of the Lord.
12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the North even unto the East shall they run to and fro to seek the [f]word of the Lord, and shall not find it.
9 1 Why, albeit he think well of their ready wills, 3 yet earnestly exhorteth them, 4 he yieldeth a reason: 6 He compareth alms to seed sowing, 10 which God doth repay with great gain.
1 For [a]as touching the ministering to the Saints, it is superfluous for me to write unto you.
2 For I know your readiness of mind, whereof I boast myself of you unto them of Macedonia, and say, that Achaia was prepared a year ago, and your zeal hath provoked many.
3 Now have I sent the brethren, lest our rejoicing over you should be in vain in this behalf, that ye (as I have said) be ready.
4 Lest if they of Macedonia come with me, and find you unprepared, we (that we may not say, you) should be ashamed in this my [b]constant boasting.
5 Wherefore, I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to come before unto you, and to finish your benevolence appointed afore, that it might be ready, and come as of benevolence, and not as of [c]niggardliness.
6 [d]This yet remember, that he which soweth sparingly, shall reap also sparingly, and he that soweth liberally, shall reap also liberally.
7 As every man [e]wisheth in his heart, so let him give, not (A)[f]grudgingly, or of [g]necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to make all [h]grace to abound toward you, that ye always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound in [i]every good work,
9 ((B)As it is written, He hath sparsed abroad and hath given to the poor: his benevolence remaineth for [j]ever.
10 Also he that findeth seed to the sower, will minister likewise bread for food, and multiply your seed, and increase the [k]fruits of your benevolence.)
11 That on all parts ye may be made rich unto all liberality, which causeth through us thanksgiving unto God.
12 [l]For the ministration of this service not only supplieth the necessities of the Saints, but also abundantly causeth many to give thanks to God,
13 (Which by the [m]experiment of this ministration praise God for your [n]voluntary submission to the Gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution to them, and to all men.)
14 And in their prayer for you, to long after you greatly, for the abundant grace of God in you.
15 [o]Thanks therefore be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
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