Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Naboth’s Vineyard
21 There was a vineyard near King Ahab’s palace in Samaria. A man from Jezreel named Naboth owned it. 2 One day Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard that is near my palace. I want to make it a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in its place. Or, if you prefer, I will pay you for it.”
3 Naboth answered, “By the Lord, I will never give my land to you. This land belongs to my family.”
4 So Ahab went home angry and upset because Naboth told him, “I will not give you my family’s land.” Ahab went to bed, turned away from everyone, and refused to eat.
5 His wife Jezebel went to him and asked him, “Why are you upset? Why do you refuse to eat?”
6 Ahab answered, “I asked Naboth from Jezreel to give me his vineyard. I told him that I would pay him the full price. Or, if he preferred, I would give him another vineyard. But he refused to give it to me.”
7 Jezebel answered, “But you are the king over Israel! Get out of bed and eat something, and you will feel better. I will get Naboth’s vineyard for you.”
8 Then Jezebel wrote some letters. She signed Ahab’s name to them and used his seal to seal the letters. Then she sent them to the elders and important men who lived in the same town as Naboth. 9 This is what the letter said:
“Announce that there will be a day of fasting when the people will eat nothing. Then call all the people of the town together for a meeting. At the meeting we will talk about Naboth. 10 Find some men who will tell lies about Naboth. They should say that they heard Naboth speak against the king and against God. Then take Naboth out of the city and kill him with stones.”
11 So the elders and important men of Jezreel obeyed the command. 12 The leaders announced that there would be a day when all the people would eat nothing. On that day they called all the people together for a meeting. They put Naboth in a special place before the people. 13 Then two men told the people that they heard Naboth speak against God and the king. So the people carried Naboth out of the city and killed him with stones. 14 Then the leaders sent a message to Jezebel that said: “Naboth has been killed.”
15 When Jezebel heard this, she said to Ahab, “Naboth is dead. Now you can go and take the vineyard that you wanted.” 16 So Ahab went to the vineyard and took it for his own.
17 Then the Lord spoke to Elijah, the prophet from Tishbe: 18 “Go to King Ahab in Samaria. He will be at Naboth’s vineyard. He is there to take the vineyard as his own. 19 Tell Ahab that I, the Lord, say to him, ‘Ahab! You killed the man Naboth and now you are taking his land. So I, the Lord, tell you this: Where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, they will lick up your blood as well.’”
20 So Elijah went to Ahab. When Ahab saw him, he said, “Well, my enemy has found me again!”
Elijah answered, “Yes, I found you, because you have again sold yourself out to do what the Lord says is evil. 21 So this is what he says to you: ‘I will make something bad happen to you. I will kill you and every male in your family.
To the director: With flutes.[a] A song of David.
5 Lord, listen to me
and understand what I am trying to say.
2 My God and King,
listen to my prayer.
3 Every morning, Lord, I lay my gifts before you
and look to you for help.
And every morning you hear my prayers.
4 God, you don’t want evil people near you.
They cannot stay in your presence.[b]
5 Fools[c] cannot come near you.
You hate those who do evil.
6 You destroy those who tell lies.
Lord, you hate those who make secret plans to hurt others.
7 But by your great mercy, I can enter your house.
I can worship in your holy Temple with fear and respect for you.
8 Lord, show me your right way of living,
and make it easy for me to follow.
People are looking for my weaknesses,
so show me how you want me to live.
15 We are Jews by birth. We were not born “sinners,” as we call those who are not Jews. 16 But we know that no one is made right with God by following the law. It is trusting in[a] Jesus Christ that makes a person right with God. So we have put our faith in Christ Jesus, because we wanted to be made right with God. And we are right with him because we trusted in[b] Christ—not because we followed the law. I can say this because no one can be made right with God by following the law.
17 We Jews came to Christ to be made right with God, so it is clear that we were sinners too. Does this mean that Christ makes us sinners? Of course not. 18 But I would be wrong to begin teaching again those things that I gave up. 19 It was the law itself that caused me to end my life under the law. I died to the law so that I could live for God. I have been nailed to the cross with Christ. 20 So I am not the one living now—it is Christ living in me. I still live in my body, but I live by faith in[c] the Son of God. He is the one who loved me and gave himself to save me. 21 I am not the one destroying the meaning of God’s grace. If following the law is how people are made right with God, then Christ did not have to die.
Simon the Pharisee
36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him. Jesus went into the Pharisee’s house and took a place at the table.
37 There was a sinful woman in that town. She knew that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house. So the woman brought some expensive perfume in an alabaster jar. 38 She stood at Jesus’ feet, crying. Then she began to wash his feet with her tears. She dried his feet with her hair. She kissed his feet many times and rubbed them with the perfume.
39 When the Pharisee who asked Jesus to come to his house saw this, he thought to himself, “If this man were a prophet,[a] he would know that the woman who is touching him is a sinner!”
40 In response, Jesus said to the Pharisee, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”
Simon said, “Let me hear it, Teacher.”
41 Jesus said, “There were two men. Both men owed money to the same banker. One man owed him 500 silver coins. The other man owed him 50 silver coins. 42 The men had no money, so they could not pay their debt. But the banker told the men that they did not have to pay him. Which one of those two men will love him more?”
43 Simon answered, “I think it would be the one who owed him the most money.”
Jesus said to him, “You are right.” 44 Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I came into your house, you gave me no water for my feet. But she washed my feet with her tears and dried my feet with her hair. 45 You did not greet me with a kiss, but she has been kissing my feet since I came in. 46 You did not honor me with oil for my head, but she rubbed my feet with her sweet-smelling oil. 47 I tell you that her many sins are forgiven. This is clear, because she showed great love. People who are forgiven only a little will love only a little.”
48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 The people sitting at the table began to think to themselves, “Who does this man think he is? How can he forgive sins?”
50 Jesus said to the woman, “Because you believed, you are saved from your sins. Go in peace.”
The Group With Jesus
8 The next day, Jesus traveled through some cities and small towns. Jesus told the people a message from God, the Good News about God’s kingdom. The twelve apostles were with him. 2 There were also some women with him. Jesus had healed these women of sicknesses and evil spirits. One of them was Mary, who was called Magdalene. Seven demons had come out of her. 3 Also with these women were Joanna, the wife of Chuza (the manager of Herod’s property), Susanna, and many other women. These women used their own money to help Jesus and his apostles.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International