Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Ahab Covets Naboth’s Vineyard

21 Now it came about after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in ^(A)Jezreel beside the palace of Ahab, the king of Samaria. ² And Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “^(B)Give me your vineyard so that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is close beside my house, and I will give you a better vineyard in place of it; if ^[a]you prefer, I will give you what ^[b]it is worth in money.” ³ But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid me ^(C)that I would give you the inheritance of my fathers!” ^4 (D)So Ahab entered his house sullen and furious because of the ^[c]answer that Naboth the Jezreelite had given to him, since he said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned his face away, and ate no ^[d]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 ^[e]food?” ⁶ So he said to her, “It is because I was speaking to Naboth the Jezreelite and saying to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you a vineyard in place of it.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’” ⁷ Jezebel his wife said to him, “^(E)Do you now ^[f]reign over Israel? Arise, eat bread, and let your heart be joyful; 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 the letters to ^(G)the elders and to the nobles who were living with Naboth in his city. ⁹ Now she had written in the letters, saying, “Proclaim a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people; ¹⁰ and seat two ^(H)worthless men opposite him, and have them testify against him, saying, ‘^(I)You ^[g]cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and ^(J)stone him ^[h]to death.”

Jezebel’s Plot

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

¹⁵ And 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 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab got up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

¹⁷ Then the word of the Lord 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, ‘This is what the Lord says: “^(B)Have you murdered and also taken possession?”’ And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘The Lord says this: “^(C)In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, the dogs will lick up your blood, yours as well.”’”

²⁰ Then Ahab said to Elijah, “^(D)Have you found me, enemy of mine?” And he ^[a]answered, “I have found you, ^(E)because you have given yourself over to do evil in the sight of the Lord. ²¹ Behold, I am bringing disaster upon you, and I ^(F)will utterly sweep you away, and will eliminate from Ahab every male, both ^[b]bond and free in Israel;

Prayer for Protection from the Wicked.

For the music director; for ^[a]flute accompaniment. A Psalm of David.

¹⁵ “We are ^(A)Jews by nature and not ^(B)sinners from the Gentiles; ¹⁶ nevertheless, knowing that ^(C)a person is not justified by works of ^[a]the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by ^(D)faith in Christ and not by works of ^[b]the Law; since ^(E)by works of ^[c]the Law no ^[d]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 servant of sin? ^[e](G)Far from it! ¹⁸ For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I ^(H)prove myself to be a wrongdoer. ¹⁹ For through ^[f]the Law I ^(I)died to ^[g]the Law, so that I might live for God. ²⁰ I have been ^(J)crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but ^(K)Christ lives in me; and ^[h]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 nullify the grace of God, for ^(O)if righteousness comes through ^[i]the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”

The Anointing in Galilee

³⁶ Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to eat with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. ^37 (A)And 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 vial of perfume, ³⁸ and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and she wiped them with the hair of her head, and began kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. ³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “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 ^[b]sinner!”

Parable of Two Debtors

⁴⁰ And Jesus responded and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he ^[c]replied, “Say it, Teacher.” ⁴¹ “A moneylender had two debtors: the one owed five hundred ^[d](C)denarii, and the other, fifty. ⁴² When they ^(D)were unable to repay, he canceled the debts of both. So which of them will love him more?” ⁴³ Simon answered and said, “I assume the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” 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 ^[e](F)gave Me no kiss; but she has not stopped kissing My feet since the time I came in. ^46 (G)You did not ^[f]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 the one who is forgiven little, loves little.” ⁴⁸ And He said to her, “^(H)Your sins have been forgiven.” ⁴⁹ And then those who were reclining at the table with Him began saying ^[g]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.”

Women Support Jesus

8 Soon afterward, ^[h]Jesus began going around from one city and village to another, ^(L)proclaiming and preaching 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)steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.