Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Reign of the Davidic King
11 “A shoot will come out
from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch will bear fruit
from his roots.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and power,
the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.
3 His delight will be in the fear of the Lord.
He won’t judge by what his eyes see,
nor decide disputes by what his ears hear,
4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
and decide with equity for[a] earth’s poor.[b]
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,[c]
and the wicked will be killed[d] with the breath of his lips.
5 Righteousness will be the sash around his loins,
and faithfulness the belt around his waist.”
A Transformed Ecology
6 “The wolf will live with the lamb;
the leopard will lie down with the young goat.
The calf and the lion will graze[e] together,
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow and the bear will graze,
and[f] their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child will play
over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child will put his hand on vipers’ dens.[g]
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on[h] my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full
of the knowledge[i] of the Lord,[j]
as the waters cover the sea.”
The Rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram
16 Now Izhar’s son Korah, the grandson of Kohath, a descendant of Levi, along with Eliab’s sons Dathan and Abiram, and Peleth’s son On, a descendant of Reuben, took charge 2 of a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 community leaders, Israelis who were famous men and representatives from the assembly. 3 They gathered together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have appropriated too much for yourselves from the entire congregation, since all of them are holy, and the Lord is among them, too. Why do you exalt yourselves over the Lord’s assembly?”
4 When Moses heard this, he fell on his face. 5 Then he addressed Korah and his entire company, “In the morning, may the Lord reveal who belongs to him and who is holy. May he cause that person[a] to approach him. May he cause to approach him the one whom he has chosen. 6 Korah, you and your entire company are to bring censers 7 and put fire and incense in them in the Lord’s presence tomorrow. It will be that the man whom the Lord chooses will be holy. You’re taking too much for yourselves, you descendants of Levi.”
8 Moses also told Korah, “Listen now, you descendants of Levi! 9 Is it such an insignificant thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the Israelis to draw you to himself, appointing you to do the work of the tent of the Lord and to stand before the community to minister to them? 10 He brought you near, along with all of your relatives, the descendants of Levi. Are you also seeking the priesthood? 11 Therefore you and your group have conspired against the Lord and Aaron. What is it that causes you to complain against him?”
12 So Moses sent for Eliab’s sons Dathan and Abiram, but they responded, “We’re not coming. 13 Is it such an insignificant thing that you brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness? Now you’re trying to make yourself be a prince and rule over us, aren’t you? 14 You still haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you really think that you can make these men look the other way?[b] We won’t go up.”
15 Moses was very angry, so he told the Lord, “Please don’t accept their offering. I haven’t taken even one donkey from them nor have I hurt even one of them.”
16 Then Moses told Korah, “You and your entire company are to present yourselves in the Lord’s presence tomorrow—you, they, and Aaron. 17 Each man is to take a censer, put incense on it, and bring it into the Lord’s presence, each man with his censer, for a total of 250 censers. You and Aaron are each to bring his own censer.”
18 So each man took his censer, put fire coals inside of it, placed incense in it, and then stood at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, accompanied by Moses and Aaron. 19 When Korah had assembled the entire community in opposition to Moses and Aaron[c] at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of the Lord appeared to the entire community.
7 Remember your leaders, those who have spoken God’s word to you. Think about the impact of their lives, and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus, the Messiah,[a] is the same yesterday and today—and forever!
9 Stop being[b] carried away by all kinds of unusual teachings, for it is good that the heart be strengthened by grace, not by food laws[c] that have never helped those who follow them.
10 We have an altar, and those who serve in the tent have no right to eat at it. 11 For the bodies of animals, whose blood is taken into the sanctuary by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. 12 That is why Jesus, in order to sanctify the people by his own blood, also suffered outside the city gate. 13 Therefore go to him outside the camp and endure the insults he endured. 14 For here we have no permanent city but are looking for the one that is coming. 15 Therefore, through him let us always bring God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of our lips that confess his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to be generous, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.
17 Continue to follow and be submissive to your leaders, since they are watching over your souls as those who will have to give a word of explanation. By doing this, you will be letting them carry out their duties joyfully, and not with grief, for that would be harmful for you.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.