Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 96(A)
King of the Earth
1 Sing a new song to the Lord;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.(B)
2 Sing to Yahweh, praise His name;
proclaim His salvation from day to day.(C)
3 Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonderful works among all peoples.(D)
4 For the Lord is great and is highly praised;
He is feared above all gods.(E)
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.(F)
6 Splendor and majesty are before Him;
strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.(G)
7 Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.(H)
8 Ascribe to Yahweh the glory of His name;(I)
bring an offering and enter His courts.(J)
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness;(K)
tremble before Him, all the earth.(L)
10 Say among the nations: “The Lord reigns.(M)
The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken.(N)
He judges the peoples fairly.”(O)
11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and all that fills it resound.(P)
12 Let the fields and everything in them exult.
Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy(Q)
13 before the Lord, for He is coming—
for He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with His faithfulness.(R)
Rehoboam in Jerusalem
20 When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back,(A) they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel.(B) No one followed the house of David except the tribe of Judah alone.(C) 21 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem,(D) he mobilized 180,000 choice warriors from the entire house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin(E) to fight against the house of Israel to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon. 22 But a revelation from God came to Shemaiah,(F) the man of God: 23 “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, to the whole house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 24 ‘This is what the Lord says: You are not to march up and fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Each of you must return home, for I have done this.’”(G)
So they listened to what the Lord said and went back as He had told them.
Jeroboam’s Idolatry
25 Jeroboam built Shechem(H) in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built Penuel.(I) 26 Jeroboam said to himself, “The way things are going now, the kingdom might return to the house of David.(J) 27 If these people regularly go to offer sacrifices in the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem,(K) the heart of these people will return to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will murder me and go back to the king of Judah.” 28 So the king sought advice.
Then he made two golden calves, and he said to the people, “Going to Jerusalem is too difficult for you. Israel, here is your God[a] who brought you out of the land of Egypt.”(L) 29 He set up one in Bethel,(M) and put the other in Dan.(N) 30 This led to sin;(O) the people walked in procession before one of the calves all the way to Dan.[b](P)
31 Jeroboam also built shrines on the high places(Q) and set up priests from every class of people who were not Levites.(R) 32 Jeroboam made a festival in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, like the festival in Judah.(S) He offered sacrifices on the altar; he made this offering in Bethel to sacrifice to the calves he had set up. He also stationed the priests in Bethel for the high places he had set up.(T) 33 He offered sacrifices on[c] the altar he had set up in Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month. He chose this month on his own.(U) He made a festival for the Israelites, offered sacrifices on the altar, and burned incense.(V)
11 Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord,(A) we seek to persuade people. We are completely open before God, and I hope we are completely open to your consciences as well. 12 We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you may have a reply for those who take pride in the outward appearance[a] rather than in the heart. 13 For if we are out of our mind,(B) it is for God; if we have a sound mind,(C) it is for you. 14 For Christ’s love compels[b] us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all,(D) then all died. 15 And He died for all(E) so that those who live should no longer live for themselves,(F) but for the One(G) who died for them and was raised.
The Ministry of Reconciliation
16 From now on, then, we do not know[c] anyone in a purely human way.[d] Even if we have known[e] Christ in a purely human way,[f] yet now we no longer know[g] Him in this way. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;(H) old things have passed away, and look,(I) new things[h] have come.(J)
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