Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Lord measures the wall
7 Then the Lord showed this vision to me. The Lord God was standing next to a wall. In his hand was a string with a heavy weight on its end. The Lord was hanging the string down the wall. He was looking to see whether the wall was straight. 8 He asked me, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ I said, ‘You are measuring the wall to see if it is straight.’
The Lord said, ‘Understand this. I am ready to measure my people with this string. I will test them and I will punish them for their sins. I will not forgive them any more.
9 I will send enemies to destroy the holy places of Isaac's descendants. All Israel's holy places will fall down. Enemies will use swords to kill King Jeroboam and his family.’
Amaziah speaks with Amos
10 Amaziah, was a priest at the holy place called Bethel. He sent a message to Jeroboam, the king of Israel. He said, ‘Amos is speaking against you among all Israel's people. What he is saying will deceive the people of our nation. 11 Amos is saying, “Our enemies will kill King Jeroboam. They will take all the people to a foreign country as prisoners.” ’
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, ‘Go away, you prophet! Go back to your own country, Judah. Speak your messages from God to get your food there! 13 Do not speak God's message here in Bethel any longer. It is where our king and our nation come to worship.’
14 Then Amos answered Amaziah, ‘My job was not as a prophet. My father never did that work. My job was to work as a shepherd. I also took care of fig trees. 15 But the Lord told me to leave my work as a shepherd. He told me to go and to speak his message to his people, the Israelites. 16 So listen to the Lord's message to you! You are telling me, “Do not speak God's message against Israel. Do not say that trouble is coming to Isaac's descendants.” 17 The Lord says this to you, Amaziah: “Your wife will work as a prostitute in the streets. Your sons and daughters will die in war. Enemies will measure your land into separate pieces and they will give it to others. They will take your people away from here as prisoners to a foreign country. And that is where they will die.” ’
This is a psalm that Asaph wrote.
God and the gods[a]
82 God calls the powerful rulers to meet in heaven.
He sits on his throne to judge them.
2 He asks them, ‘How long will you continue to judge people
in a way that is not fair?
How long will you say that wicked people are right?
Selah.
3 You must help poor people and those with no family
to receive justice.
Help those who have pain and trouble
to receive the help that they need.
4 Rescue weak and helpless people,
so that evil people cannot hurt them.
5 The powerful leaders know nothing
and they understand nothing.
They walk about in a dark place.
At the same time the foundation of the earth shakes![b]
6 I said, “You are gods.
You are all sons of the Most High God.
7 But you will die, as all people die.
You will come to an end, like all other rulers.” ’[c]
8 God, now do something!
Judge all the nations of the earth.
For they all belong to you.
Paul and Timothy say ‘Hello’
1 This letter is from me, Paul. God chose me to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. Our friend Timothy is here with me while I write.
2 We are writing to you, God's own people who live in Colossae. You are like brothers and sisters to us because you continue to believe in Christ.
I pray that God, our Father, will continue to help you. I pray that he will give you peace in your minds.
Paul thanks God for the believers
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you. 4 We thank God because people have told us good things about you. You continue to trust Christ Jesus. You also love all God's people. 5 You live like that because you hope to receive good things from God.[a] You know that God has prepared those good things for you. He is keeping them safe in heaven. You learned that when people first told you God's true message, his good news.
6 You have heard this good news, like people all over the world have heard it. It has caused good results among you since the time when you heard it first. At that time, you understood the true message about how kind God really is. As a result, God is blessing you more and more, like he blesses his people everywhere. 7 It was our good friend Epaphras who first told you this good news. Like us, he is Christ's servant. He serves Christ on our behalf. 8 He has told us about the love that God's Spirit has given to you.
Paul prays that they will know God more and more
9 Because of all that, we have not stopped praying for you, ever since the day that we heard about you. We ask God that his Spirit will make you truly wise. He will help you to know clearly what he wants you to do. You will understand his true message. 10 Then you will be able to live in a way that the Lord wants you to live. Everything that you do will please him. We pray that all these good things will have good results. We pray that you will know God better and better. 11 God rules from heaven with great power. We pray that he will make you strong with every kind of strength. Then, when troubles come, you can still be patient and strong. 12 You will be able to thank God, our Father, and be happy. God has prepared good things for his people to receive in heaven. Because God has included you among his people, you will also share those good things in the kingdom of light. 13 God has saved us from the dark kingdom where Satan rules.[b] He has brought us into the kingdom of his Son, whom he loves. 14 God's Son, Jesus, paid the price for our sins and made us free. Yes, God has forgiven us.[c]
A story about a good man from Samaria
25 A teacher of God's Law stood up. He wanted to see how Jesus would answer his question. So he asked Jesus, ‘Teacher, what must I do so that I can live with God for ever?’
26 ‘What does God's Law say?’ Jesus asked. ‘What do you understand when you read it?’
27 The man replied, ‘It says that we must love the Lord our God with all our mind and with all our strength. We must love him with all that we are and in all that we think. It also says that we must love other people as much as we love ourselves.’[a]
28 ‘You have told me the right answer,’ Jesus said. ‘If you do this, you will have true life with God.’
29 But the man wanted to show that he had been right to ask a question. So he asked, ‘Who are the people near to me that I must love?’
30 Jesus answered him with a story: ‘A man was going down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho town. On the way, some men attacked him. They took away all his clothes and they hit him with sticks. He was almost dead when they left him. 31 But it happened that a priest from the temple was going down that road. He saw the man, who was lying there. But he walked past him on the other side of the road. 32 A Levite was also going down the road. He came to the place where the man was lying. He saw him. But he also walked past on the other side of the road.[b]
33 But then a man from Samaria was also travelling along the road. And he came to the place where the man was lying. When he saw him, he felt very sorry for him. 34 He went across to him. He poured oil and wine on the places where he was bleeding.[c] Then he tied those places with clean cloths. After that, he put the man on his own donkey to carry him. They arrived at a small hotel. He took the man in there and he was kind to him.[d]
35 The next day, the man from Samaria took out two silver coins from his purse.[e] He gave the money to the man that was taking care of the hotel. “Be kind to this man for me,” he said. “This money may not be enough. When I return, I will pay you for any more that you have spent on him.” ’
36 Then Jesus asked the teacher of God's Law a question. He said, ‘Three men saw the man that was lying on the road. Which of them showed love to him, like a real friend?’
37 The teacher answered, ‘It was the man who was kind to him.’
Then Jesus said to him, ‘Yes. So you should go and do the same for other people.’
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