Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Unfaithfulness of Israel’s Ancestors
4 Hear the word of Yahweh, O house of Jacob, and all the clans[a] of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says Yahweh:
“What injustice did your ancestors[b] find in me
that they were far from me,
and they went after the vanity,
and they became vain?
6 And they did not say,
‘Where is Yahweh,
the one who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
the one who led us in the desert,[c]
in a land of desert plains and gorges,[d]
in a land of dryness and deep darkness,
in a land that no one passes through,[e]
and no human lives there?’
7 And I brought you to the land of the orchard,
to eat its fruit, and its good things.[f]
But you entered and defiled my land,
and my inheritance you made a detestable thing.[g]
8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is Yahweh?’
and those who handle the law did not know me,
and the shepherds have rebelled against me,[h]
and the prophets prophesied by Baal,
and they went after things which do not profit.
The Unfaithfulness of Contemporary Israel
9 Therefore[i] I again bring a lawsuit against you,” declares[j] Yahweh,
“and with your children[k] I bring a lawsuit.
10 For go over to the coasts of Cyprus and look,
and send to Kedar and consider very closely,
and see if there has been a thing like this:
11 Has a nation exchanged gods? And they are not gods!
But my people have exchanged their glory for that which does not profit.
12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this, and shudder;
be utterly desolate,” declares[l] Yahweh.
13 “For my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me, the source[m] of living water,
to hew out for themselves cisterns, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.
An Appeal from God to Israel
For the music director; on the Gittith. Of Asaph.[a]
81 Shout out to God our strength;
shout joyfully to the God of Jacob.
10 I am Yahweh your God,
who brought you up from the land of Egypt.
Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.
11 But my people did not listen to my voice,
and Israel did not yield to me.
12 So I let them[a] go in the stubbornness of their heart;
they walked in their counsels.
13 Oh that my people would listen to me;
that Israel would walk in my ways.
14 I would subdue their enemies quickly,
and turn my hand against their adversaries.
15 Those who hate Yahweh would cringe before him,
and their fate[b] would be forever.
16 But he would feed him[c] from the choicest wheat,[d]
and I would satisfy you with honey from a rock.”
Concluding Ethical Instructions
13 Brotherly love must continue. 2 Do not neglect hospitality, because through this some have received angels as guests without knowing it. 3 Remember the prisoners, as though you were fellow-prisoners; remember[a] the mistreated, as though you yourselves also are being mistreated[b] in the body. 4 Marriage must be held in honor by all, and the marriage bed be undefiled, because God will judge sexually immoral people and adulterers. 5 Your lifestyle must be free from the love of money, being content with what you have. For he himself has said, “I will never desert you, and I will never abandon you.”[c] 6 So then, we can say with confidence,
7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you; considering the outcome of their way of life[f], imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever[g].
15 Therefore through him let us offer up a sacrifice of praise continually[a] to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 And do not neglect doing good and generosity, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.
A Man Suffering from Edema Healed
14 And it happened that when he came to the house of a certain one of the leaders of the Pharisees on a Sabbath to eat a meal,[a] they were watching him closely.
The Parable of the Guests at the Wedding Feast
7 Now he told a parable to those who had been invited when he[a] noticed how they were choosing for themselves the places of honor, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast,[b] do not recline at the table in the place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you has been invited by him, 9 and the one who invited you both[c] will come and[d] say to you, ‘Give the place to this person,’ and then with shame you will begin to take the last place. 10 But when you are invited, go and[e] recline at the table in the last place, so that when the one who invited you comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then it will be an honor to you in the presence of all those who are reclining at the table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The Parable of the Great Banquet
12 And he also said to the one who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or wealthy neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and repayment come to you. 13 But whenever you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they are not able to repay you. For it will be paid back to you at the resurrection of the righteous.”
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