Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Ahab Takes Possession of Naboth’s Vineyard

21 Now it happened after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in ^(A)Jezreel beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. ² And Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “^(B)Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden because it is close beside my house, and I will give you a better vineyard than it in its place; if it is good in your sight, I will give you the price of ^[a]it in money.” ³ But Naboth said to Ahab, “Yahweh forbid me ^(C)that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” ^4 (D)So Ahab came into his house sullen and enraged because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and ate no ^[b]food.

⁵ But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “How is it that your spirit is so sullen that you are not eating ^[c]food?” ⁶ So he said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you a vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’” ⁷ And Jezebel his wife said to him, “^(E)Do you now exercise kingship over Israel? Arise, eat bread, and let your heart be merry; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

^8 (F)So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and sent letters to ^(G)the elders and to the nobles who were living with Naboth in his city. ⁹ And she wrote in the letters, saying, “Call for a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people; ¹⁰ and seat two ^(H)vile men before him, and let them testify against him, saying, ‘^(I)You ^[d]cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and ^(J)stone him so that he will die.”

¹¹ So the men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them, just as it was written in the letters which she had sent them. ¹² They ^(A)called for a fast and seated Naboth at the head of the people. ¹³ Then the two vile men came in and sat before him; and the vile men testified against him, against Naboth, before the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” ^(B)So they took him outside the city and stoned him with stones and he died. ¹⁴ Then they sent word to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.”

¹⁵ Now it happened that when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” ¹⁶ Now it happened that when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

Yahweh Speaks Against Ahab

¹⁷ Then the word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ¹⁸ “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, ^(A)who is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth where he has gone down to take possession of it. ¹⁹ And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “^(B)Have you murdered and also taken possession?”’ And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “^(C)In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth the dogs will lick up your blood, even yours.”’”

²⁰ And Ahab said to Elijah, “^(D)Have you found me, O my enemy?” And he ^[a]answered, “I have found you, ^(E)because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of Yahweh. ²¹ Behold, I will bring evil upon you, and ^(F)will utterly sweep you away, and will cut off from Ahab every ^[b]male, both bond and free in Israel;

Lead Me in Your Righteousness

For the choir director. For ^[a]the flutes. A Psalm of David.

¹⁵ “We are ^(A)Jews by nature and not ^(B)sinners from among the Gentiles; ¹⁶ nevertheless ^[a]knowing that ^(C)a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by ^(D)faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since ^(E)by the works of ^[b]the Law no ^[c]flesh will be justified. ¹⁷ But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found ^(F)sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? ^(G)May it never be! ¹⁸ For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I ^(H)prove myself to be a transgressor. ¹⁹ For through ^[d]the Law I ^(I)died to ^[e]the Law, so that I might live to God. ²⁰ I have been ^(J)crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but ^(K)Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in ^(L)the Son of God, who ^(M)loved me and ^(N)gave Himself up for me. ²¹ I do not set aside the grace of God, for ^(O)if righteousness comes through ^[f]the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”

³⁶ Now one of the Pharisees was asking Him to eat with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. ^37 (A)And behold, there was a woman in the city who was a ^[a]sinner. And when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume. ³⁸ And standing behind Him at His feet, crying, she began to wet His feet with her tears. And she kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. ³⁹ Now when the Pharisee, who had invited Him, saw this, he said to himself, saying, “If this man were ^(B)a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.”

Parable of Two Debtors

⁴⁰ And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he ^[b]replied, “Say it, Teacher.” ⁴¹ “A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred ^[c](C)denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² When they ^(D)were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?” ⁴³ Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he graciously forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” ⁴⁴ And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you ^(E)gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You ^(F)gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. ^46 (G)You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. ⁴⁷ For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” ⁴⁸ Then He said to her, “^(H)Your sins have been forgiven.” ⁴⁹ And those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say ^[d]to themselves, “^(I)Who is this man who even forgives sins?” ⁵⁰ And He said to the woman, “^(J)Your faith has saved you; ^(K)go in peace.”

Many Women Contribute to Jesus’ Ministry

8 And it happened that soon afterward He was going around from one city and village to another, ^(L)preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, ² and also ^(M)some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: ^(N)Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, ³ and Joanna the wife of Chuza, ^(O)Herod’s ^(P)manager, and Susanna, and many others who were ministering to them from their possessions.