Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

In My Distress I Sought the Lord

For the choir director. According to ^[a]Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A Psalm.

Ahaziah’s Messengers Meet Elijah

1 Now ^(A)Moab revolted against Israel after the death of Ahab. ² And Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber, which was in Samaria, and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, ^(B)inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, ^(C)whether I will live from this sickness.” ³ But the angel of ^[a]Yahweh said to ^(D)Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of ^(E)Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’ ⁴ Now therefore thus says Yahweh, ‘^[b](F)You shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” Then Elijah departed.

⁵ So the messengers returned to him, and he said to them, “^[c]Why have you returned?” ⁶ And they said to him, “A man came up to meet us and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you and say to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending ^(G)to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore ^[d]you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.’”’” ⁷ And he said to them, “What ^[e]kind of man was he who came up to meet you and spoke these words to you?” ⁸ And they said to him, “^(H)He was a hairy man with a leather girdle girded about his loins.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

⁹ Then the king ^(I)sent to him a commander of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him, and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he said to him, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’” ¹⁰ And Elijah answered and spoke to the commander of fifty, “If I am a man of God, ^(J)let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” ^(K)Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

¹¹ So he again sent to him another commander of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and spoke to him, “O man of God, thus says the king, ‘Come down quickly.’” ¹² And Elijah answered and spoke to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

⁸ However at that time, ^(A)when you did not know God, you were ^(B)slaves to ^(C)those which by nature are no gods. ⁹ But now, having known God, or rather having been ^(D)known by God, ^(E)how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless ^[a](F)elemental things, to which you want to be enslaved all over again? ¹⁰ You ^(G)observe days and months and seasons and years. ¹¹ I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored ^[b]over you for nothing.

¹² I beg of you, ^(H)brothers, ^(I)become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have done me no wrong. ¹³ But you know that it was because of a ^[c]bodily illness that I proclaimed the gospel to you the ^[d]first time; ¹⁴ and that which was a ^[e]trial to you in my ^[f]bodily condition you did not despise or ^[g]loathe, but ^(J)you received me as an angel of God, as ^(K)Christ Jesus Himself. ¹⁵ Where then is ^[h]that sense of blessing you had? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me. ¹⁶ So have I become your enemy ^(L)by ^[i]telling you the truth? ¹⁷ They zealously seek you, not commendably, but they wish to shut you out so that you will zealously seek them. ¹⁸ But it is good always to be zealously sought in a commendable ^[j]manner, and ^(M)not only when I am present with you. ^19 (N)My children, with whom ^(O)I am again in labor until ^(P)Christ is formed in you— ²⁰ but I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone, because ^(Q)I am perplexed about you.