Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

21 A while later, an incident occurred involving Navot the Yizre‘eli. He owned a vineyard in Yizre‘el, right next to the palace of Ach’av king of Shomron. ² Ach’av spoke to Navot and said, “Give me your vineyard, so that I can have it as my vegetable garden, because it’s close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard; or, if you prefer, I will give you its monetary value.” ³ But Navot said to Ach’av, “Adonai forbid that I should give you my ancestral heritage!” ⁴ Ach’av went home resentful and depressed at what Navot the Yizre‘eli had said to him, since he had said, “I won’t give you my ancestral heritage.” He lay down on his bed, turned his face away and refused to eat. ⁵ Izevel his wife went and said to him, “Why are you so depressed that you refuse to eat?” ⁶ He answered her, “Because I spoke to Navot the Yizre‘eli and said to him, “Sell me your vineyard for money; or else, if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard for it”; but he answered, “I won’t give you my vineyard.” ⁷ “Are you the king of Isra’el or not?” asked his wife Izevel. “Get up, eat some food, and cheer up! I will give you the vineyard of Navot the Yizre‘eli.”

⁸ So she wrote letters in Ach’av’s name, sealed them with his seal and sent the letters to the leaders and notables of the city where Navot lived. ⁹ In the letters she wrote, “Proclaim a fast, and give Navot the seat of honor among the people. ¹⁰ Have two good-for-nothing men sit opposite him, and have them accuse him publicly of cursing God and the king. Then take him outside and stone him to death.”

¹¹ The leaders and notables of the city he lived in did as Izevel had written in the letters she sent to them. ¹² They proclaimed a fast and gave Navot the seat of honor among the people. ¹³ The two good-for-nothing men came in and sat opposite him, and these scoundrels publicly accused Navot, saying, “Navot cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death, ¹⁴ then sent a message to Izevel, “Navot has been stoned to death.”

¹⁵ When Izevel heard that Navot had been stoned to death, she said to Ach’av, “Get up, and take possession of the vineyard that Navot the Yizre‘eli refused to sell you, because Navot is no longer alive; he is dead.” ¹⁶ When Ach’av heard that Navot was dead, he set out to go down to the vineyard of Navot the Yizre‘eli, to take possession of it.

¹⁷ But the word of Adonai came to Eliyahu from Tishbe: ¹⁸ “Get up, go down to meet Ach’av king of Isra’el, who lives in Shomron. Right now he is in the vineyard of Navot; he has gone down there to take possession of it. ¹⁹ This is what you are to say to him: ‘Here is what Adonai says: “You have committed murder, and now you are stealing the victim’s property!” ’ Also say to him, ‘Here is what Adonai says: “In the very place where dogs licked up the blood of Navot, dogs will lick up your blood — yours!” ’”

²⁰ Ach’av said to Eliyahu, “My enemy! You’ve found me!” He answered, “Yes, I have found you; because you have given yourself over to do what is evil from Adonai’s perspective. ²¹ ‘Here,’ [says Adonai,] ‘I am bringing disaster on you! I will sweep you away completely; I will cut off from Ach’av every male, whether a slave or free in Isra’el.

¹⁵ We are Jews by birth, not so-called ‘Goyishe sinners’; ¹⁶ even so, we have come to realize that a person is not declared righteous by God on the ground of his legalistic observance of Torah commands, but through the Messiah Yeshua’s trusting faithfulness. Therefore, we too have put our trust in Messiah Yeshua and become faithful to him, in order that we might be declared righteous on the ground of the Messiah’s trusting faithfulness and not on the ground of our legalistic observance of Torah commands. For on the ground of legalistic observance of Torah commands, no one will be declared righteous.^[a]

¹⁷ But if, in seeking to be declared righteous by God through our union with the Messiah, we ourselves are indeed found to be sinners, then is the Messiah an aider and abettor of sin? Heaven forbid! ¹⁸ Indeed, if I build up again the legalistic bondage which I destroyed, I really do make myself a transgressor. ¹⁹ For it was through letting the Torah speak for itself that I died to its traditional legalistic misinterpretation, so that I might live in direct relationship with God. ²⁰ When the Messiah was executed on the stake as a criminal, I was too; so that my proud ego no longer lives. But the Messiah lives in me, and the life I now live in my body I live by the same trusting faithfulness that the Son of God had, who loved me and gave himself up for me. ²¹ I do not reject God’s gracious gift; for if the way in which one attains righteousness is through legalism, then the Messiah’s death was pointless.

³⁶ One of the P’rushim invited Yeshua to eat with him, and he went into the home of the Parush and took his place at the table. ³⁷ A woman who lived in that town, a sinner, who was aware that he was eating in the home of the Parush, brought an alabaster box of very expensive perfume, ³⁸ stood behind Yeshua at his feet and wept until her tears began to wet his feet. Then she wiped his feet with her own hair, kissed his feet and poured the perfume on them.

³⁹ When the Parush who had invited him saw what was going on, he said to himself, “If this man were really a prophet, he would have known who is touching him and what sort of woman she is, that she is a sinner.” ⁴⁰ Yeshua answered, “Shim‘on, I have something to say to you.” “Say it, Rabbi,” he replied. ⁴¹ “A certain creditor had two debtors; the one owed ten times as much as the other. ⁴² When they were unable to pay him back, he canceled both their debts. Now which of them will love him more?” ⁴³ Shim‘on answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.” “Your judgment is right,” Yeshua said to him.

⁴⁴ Then, turning to the woman, he said to Shim‘on, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house — you didn’t give me water for my feet, but this woman has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair! ⁴⁵ You didn’t give me a kiss; but from the time I arrived, this woman has not stopped kissing my feet! ⁴⁶ You didn’t put oil on my head, but this woman poured perfume on my feet! ⁴⁷ Because of this, I tell you that her sins — which are many! — have been forgiven, because she loved much. But someone who has been forgiven only a little loves only a little.” ⁴⁸ Then he said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” ⁴⁹ At this, those eating with him began saying among themselves, “Who is this fellow that presumes to forgive sins?” ⁵⁰ But he said to the woman, “Your trust has saved you; go in peace.”

8 After this, Yeshua traveled about from town to town and village to village, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God. With him were the Twelve, ² and a number of women who had been healed from evil spirits and illnesses — Miryam (called Magdalit), from whom seven demons had gone out; ³ Yochanah the wife of Herod’s finance minister Kuza; Shoshanah; and many other women who drew on their own wealth to help him.