Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
6 (A)Your throne, God, is forever and ever;
(B)The scepter of Your kingdom is a scepter of justice.
7 You have (C)loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
Therefore God, Your God, has (D)anointed You
With the oil of joy above Your companions.
8 All Your garments are fragrant with (E)myrrh, aloes, and cassia;
From ivory palaces (F)stringed instruments have made You joyful.
9 Kings’ daughters are among (G)Your noble women;
At Your (H)right hand stands the queen in (I)gold from Ophir.
10 Listen, daughter, look and incline your ear:
(J)Forget your people and your father’s house;
11 Then the King will crave your beauty.
Because He is your (K)Lord, (L)bow down to Him.
12 The daughter of (M)Tyre will come with a gift;
The (N)wealthy among the people will seek your favor.
13 The King’s daughter is all glorious within;
Her clothing is (O)interwoven with gold.
14 She will be (P)brought to the King (Q)in colorful garments;
The (R)virgins, her companions who follow her,
Will be brought to You.
15 They will be brought with joy and rejoicing;
They will enter into the King’s palace.
Hosea’s Redemption of Gomer
3 Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love [a]a woman who is loved by her [b]husband, yet is committing adultery, (A)as the Lord loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love [c]raisin (B)cakes.” 2 So I (C)purchased her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver, and a [d]homer and a [e]lethech of barley. 3 Then I said to her, “You shall (D)live with me for many days. You shall not play the prostitute, nor shall you have another man; so I will also be toward you.” 4 For the sons of Israel will live for many days (E)without a king or leader, (F)without sacrifice or (G)memorial stone, and without (H)ephod or [f](I)household idols. 5 Afterward the sons of Israel will (J)return and seek the Lord their God and (K)David their king; and (L)they will come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness in the last days.
23 But (A)I call God as witness to my soul, that it was (B)to spare you that I did not come again to (C)Corinth. 24 Not that we (D)domineer over your faith, but we are workers with you for your joy; for in your faith you are (E)standing firm.
Reaffirm Your Love
2 But I decided this [a]for my own sake, that I (F)would not come to you in sorrow again. 2 For if I (G)cause you sorrow, who then will be the one making me glad but the one who is made sorrowful by me? 3 This is the very thing I (H)wrote you, so that (I)when I came, I would not have sorrow from those who ought to make me rejoice; having (J)confidence in you all that my joy was the joy of you all. 4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I (K)wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.
5 But (L)if anyone has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not for me, but in some degree—[b]not to say too much—for all of you. 6 Sufficient for such a person is (M)this punishment which was imposed by the majority, 7 so that on the other hand, you should rather (N)forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a person might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For to this end (O)I also wrote, so that I might [c](P)put you to the test, whether you are (Q)obedient in all things. 10 But one whom you forgive anything, I also forgive; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did so for your sakes (R)in the presence of Christ, 11 so that no advantage would be taken of us by (S)Satan, for (T)we are not ignorant of his schemes.
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