Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
For the choir director; a psalm by David.
40 I waited patiently for the Lord.
He turned to me and heard my cry for help.
2 He pulled me out of a horrible pit,
out of the mud and clay.
He set my feet on a rock
and made my steps secure.
3 He placed a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see this and worship.
They will trust the Lord.
4 Blessed is the person
who places his confidence in the Lord
and does not rely on arrogant people
or those who follow lies.
5 You have done many miraculous things, O Lord my God.
You have made many wonderful plans for us.
No one compares to you!
I will tell others about your miracles,
which are more than I can count.
6 You were not pleased with sacrifices and offerings.
You have dug out two ears for me.
You did not ask for burnt offerings or sacrifices for sin.
7 Then I said, “I have come!
(It is written about me in the scroll of the book.)
8 I am happy to do your will, O my God.”
Your teachings are deep within me.
9 I will announce the good news of righteousness
among those assembled for worship.
I will not close my lips.
You know that, O Lord.
10 I have not buried your righteousness deep in my heart.
I have been outspoken about your faithfulness and your salvation.
I have not hidden your mercy and your truth
from those assembled for worship.
11 Do not withhold your compassion from me, O Lord.
May your mercy and your truth always protect me.
Shebna’s Position Will Be Given to Eliakim
15 This is what the Almighty Lord of Armies says:
Go to Shebna, the man in charge of the palace, and say ⌞to him⌟,
16 “What are you doing here?
What right do you have to dig a tomb for yourself?
What right do you have to cut it out in a prominent place?
What right do you have to carve out
a resting place for yourself in the rock?
17 Look, mighty man!
The Lord will throw you out.
He will grab you.
18 He will wrap you up tightly like a turban.
He will throw you far away into another land.
There you will die.
There your splendid chariots will remain.
There you will become a disgrace to your master’s household.
19 “I will remove you from your office
and do away with your position.
20 When that day comes, I will call my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah.
21 I will dress him in your linen robe
and fasten it with your belt.
I will give him your authority,
and he will be like a father to those who live in Jerusalem
and to the nation of Judah.
22 I will place the key of the house of David around his neck.
What he opens no one will shut.
What he shuts no one will open.
23 I will fasten him firmly in place like a peg,
and he will be a source of honor for his father’s household.
24 They will hang on him the whole weight of his father’s household,
descendants and offspring and all the little utensils,
from bowls to jars of every kind.”
25 The Lord of Armies declares,
“On that day the peg which I firmly fastened in place will be removed.
It will be cut off and will fall,
and everything hanging on it will be destroyed.”
The Lord has spoken.
Follow the Good News We Gave You
6 I’m surprised that you’re so quickly deserting Christ, who called you in his kindness,[a] to follow a different kind of good news. 7 But what some people are calling good news is not really good news at all. They are confusing you. They want to distort the Good News about Christ. 8 Whoever tells you good news that is different from the Good News we gave you should be condemned to hell, even if he is one of us or an angel from heaven. 9 I’m now telling you again what we’ve told you in the past: If anyone tells you good news that is different from the Good News you received, that person should be condemned to hell.
10 Am I saying this now to win the approval of people or God? Am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be Christ’s servant.
Jesus Alone Gave Paul the Good News He Spreads
11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the Good News I have spread is not a human message. 12 I didn’t receive it from any person. I wasn’t taught it, but Jesus Christ revealed it to me.
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