Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Israel Is Like a Bad Son
11 “When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and I called my son out of Egypt.
2 The more I called them,[a] the farther they went away.
They sacrificed to other gods—the Baals,
and they burned incense to idols.
3 I was the one who taught the people of Ephraim to walk.[b]
I took them by the hand.
But they didn’t realize that I had healed them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness, with ropes of love.
I removed the yokes[c] from their necks.
I bent down and fed them.
5 “They will not return to Egypt.
Instead, Assyria will rule them
because they have refused to return to me.
6 War will sweep through their cities,
demolish their city gates,
and put an end to their plans.
7 My people are determined to turn away from me.
Even if they call to the Most High,
he will not pardon them.
8 “How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboim?
I have changed my mind.
I am deeply moved.
9 I will not act on my burning anger.
I will not destroy Ephraim again.
I am El, not a human.
I am the Holy One among you,
and I will not come to you in anger.
10 “My people will follow Yahweh when I roar like a lion.
When I roar, my children will come trembling from the west.
11 They will come trembling like birds from Egypt
and like doves from Assyria.
I will settle them in their own homes,”
declares Yahweh.[d]
BOOK FIVE
(Psalms 107–150)
Psalm 107
1 Give thanks to Yahweh because he is good,
because his mercy endures forever.
2 Let the people Yahweh defended repeat these words.
They are the people he defended from the power of their enemies
3 and gathered from other countries,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
4 They wandered around the desert on a deserted road
without finding an inhabited city.
5 They were hungry and thirsty.
They began to lose hope.
6 In their distress they cried out to Yahweh.
He rescued them from their troubles.
7 He led them on a road that went straight to an inhabited city.
8 Let them give thanks to Yahweh because of his mercy.
He performed his miracles for Adam’s descendants.
9 He gave plenty to drink to those who were thirsty.
He filled those who were hungry with good food.
43 Let those who think they are wise
pay attention to these things
so that they may understand Yahweh’s blessings.
Live as God’s People
3 Since you were brought back to life with Christ, focus on the things that are above—where Christ holds the highest position. 2 Keep your mind on things above, not on worldly things. 3 You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 Christ is your life. When he appears, then you, too, will appear with him in glory.
5 Therefore, put to death whatever is worldly in you: your sexual sin, perversion, passion, lust, and greed (which is the same thing as worshiping wealth). 6 It is because of these sins that God’s anger comes on those who refuse to obey him.[a] 7 You used to live that kind of sinful life. 8 Also get rid of your anger, hot tempers, hatred, cursing, obscene language, and all similar sins. 9 Don’t lie to each other. You’ve gotten rid of the person you used to be and the life you used to live, 10 and you’ve become a new person. This new person is continually renewed in knowledge to be like its Creator. 11 Where this happens, there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, uncivilized person, slave, or free person. Instead, Christ is everything and in everything.
A Story about Material Possessions
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to give me my share of the inheritance that our father left us.”
14 Yeshua said to him, “Who appointed me to be your judge or to divide your inheritance?”
15 He told the people, “Be careful to guard yourselves from every kind of greed. Life is not about having a lot of material possessions.”
16 Then he used this illustration. He said, “A rich man had land that produced good crops. 17 He thought, ‘What should I do? I don’t have enough room to store my crops.’ 18 He said, ‘I know what I’ll do. I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones so that I can store all my grain and goods in them. 19 Then I’ll say to myself, “You’ve stored up a lot of good things for years to come. Take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.” ’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! I will demand your life from you tonight! Now who will get what you’ve accumulated?’ 21 That’s how it is when a person has material riches but is not rich in his relationship with God.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.