Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
2 Look! God is my Savior.
I am confident and unafraid,
because the Lord is my strength and my song.
He is my Savior.”
3 With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation.
4 At that time you will say,
“Praise the Lord.
Call on his name.
Make his deeds known among the nations.
Make them remember that his name is highly honored.
5 Make music to praise the Lord.
He has done wonderful things.
Let this be known throughout the earth.
6 Shout loudly, and sing with joy, people of Zion!
The Holy One of Israel is great. He is among you.”
The Fall of Samaria
6 How horrible it will be for those who are at ease in Zion,
for those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria,
and for the heads of the leading nations,
to whom the nation of Israel comes.
2 Go to Calneh and look.
Go from there to the great city of Hamath.
Then go to Gath, the city of the Philistines.
Are you better than these kingdoms?
Is their territory larger than yours?
3 How horrible it will be for those who think that a day of disaster is far away.
They bring the reign of violence closer.
4 How horrible it will be for those who sleep on ivory beds.
They sprawl out on their couches
and eat lambs from their flocks and calves from their stalls.
5 How horrible it will be for those who make up songs as they strum a harp.
Like David, they write all kinds of songs for themselves.
6 How horrible it will be for those who drink wine by the jugful.
They rub the finest oils all over themselves
and are not sorry for the ruin ⌞of the descendants⌟ of Joseph.
7 That is why they will now be the first to go into exile.
The celebrating of those sprawled around the banquet table will stop.
8 The Almighty Lord has sworn an oath on himself.
The Lord God of Armies declares:
I am disgusted with Jacob’s pride,
and I hate his palaces.
So I will hand over the city and everything in it.
The Collection for Christians in Jerusalem
8 Brothers and sisters, we want you to know how God showed his kindness [a] to the churches in the province of Macedonia. 2 While they were being severely tested by suffering, their overflowing joy, along with their extreme poverty, has made them even more generous. 3 I assure you that by their own free will they have given all they could, even more than they could afford. 4 They made an appeal to us, begging us to let them participate in the ministry of God’s kindness to his holy people ⌞in Jerusalem⌟. 5 They did more than we had expected. First, they gave themselves to the Lord and to us, since this was God’s will. 6 This led us to urge Titus to finish his work of God’s kindness among you in the same way as he had already started it.
7 Indeed, the more your faith, your ability to speak, your knowledge, your dedication, and your love for us increase, the more we want you to participate in this work of God’s kindness.
8 I’m not commanding you, but I’m testing how genuine your love is by pointing out the dedication of others. 9 You know about the kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ. He was rich, yet for your sake he became poor in order to make you rich through his poverty.
10 I’m giving you my opinion because it will be helpful to you. Last year you were not only willing ⌞to take a collection⌟ but had already started to do it. 11 So finish what you began to do. Then your willingness will be matched by what you accomplish 12 with whatever contributions you have. Since you are willing to do this, ⌞remember⌟ that people are accepted if they give what they are able to give. God doesn’t ask for what they don’t have.
13 I don’t mean that others should have relief while you have hardship. Rather, it’s a matter of striking a balance. 14 At the present time, your surplus fills their need so that their surplus may fill your need. In this way things balance out. 15 This is what Scripture says: “Those who had gathered a lot didn’t have too much, and those who gathered a little didn’t have too little.”
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