Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Praise to the Lord for His Fidelity to Israel.
99 (A)The Lord reigns, let the peoples tremble;
He [a](B)is enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake!
2 The Lord [b]is (C)great in Zion,
And He is (D)exalted above all the peoples.
3 Let them praise Your (E)great and awesome name;
(F)Holy is [c]He.
4 The [d]strength of the King (G)loves [e]justice;
You have established [f](H)equity;
You have (I)executed [g]justice and righteousness in Jacob.
5 [h](J)Exalt the Lord our God
And (K)worship at His footstool;
(L)Holy is He.
6 (M)Moses and Aaron were among His (N)priests,
And (O)Samuel was among those who (P)called on His name;
They (Q)called upon the Lord and He answered them.
7 He (R)spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
They (S)kept His testimonies
And the statute that He gave them.
8 O Lord our God, You (T)answered them;
You were a (U)forgiving God to them,
And yet an (V)avenger of their evil deeds.
9 Exalt the Lord our God
And worship at His holy hill,
For holy is the Lord our God.
11 Then Elkanah went to his home at (A)Ramah. (B)But the boy ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest.
The Sin of Eli’s Sons
12 Now the sons of Eli were [a](C)worthless men; they did not know the Lord 13 (D)and the custom of the priests with the people. When any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand. 14 Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. Thus they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. 15 Also, before (E)they burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat for roasting, as he will not take boiled meat from you, only raw.” 16 If the man said to him, “They must surely [b]burn the fat [c]first, and then take as much as [d]you desire,” then he would say, “No, but you shall give it to me now; and if not, I will take it by force.” 17 Thus the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for the men (F)despised the offering of the Lord.
19 (A)You will say to me then, “(B)Why does He still find fault? For (C)who resists His will?” 20 On the contrary, who are you, (D)O man, who (E)answers back to God? (F)The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? 21 Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel [a]for honorable use and another [b]for common use? 22 [c]What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much (G)patience vessels of wrath (H)prepared for destruction? 23 And He did so to make known (I)the riches of His glory upon (J)vessels of mercy, which He (K)prepared beforehand for glory, 24 even us, whom He also (L)called, (M)not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. 25 As He says also in Hosea,
“(N)I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’
And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’”
26 “(O)And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people,’
There they shall be called sons of (P)the living God.”
27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “(Q)Though the number of the sons of Israel be (R)like the sand of the sea, it is (S)the remnant that will be saved; 28 (T)for the Lord will execute His word on the earth, [d]thoroughly and [e]quickly.” 29 And just as Isaiah foretold,
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