Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
10 I am the Lord, your God.
I brought you out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide,
and I will fill it with many good things.”[a]
11 But my people refused to listen to me.
My people, Israel, did not obey me.
12 So I let them follow their own proud ideas.
They could do whatever they wanted to do.
13 But my people should listen to me!
Yes, Israel should obey my commands!
14 Then I would quickly win against their enemies.
I would attack them all.’
15 (Then people who hate the Lord
would fall down with fear in front of him.
They would be ashamed for ever.)
16 ‘But I would feed you, my people, with the best wheat.
I would give you plenty of honey from the rock,
for you to eat and be full.’
Israel's people have turned against the Lord
2 The Lord spoke to me again. 2 He said, ‘Go and tell this to the people in Jerusalem:
“This is what the Lord says:
I remember how you used to love me when you were young.
You loved me as a young wife loves her husband.
You followed me through the wilderness,
where no crops were growing.
3 At that time, Israel belonged to me as my special people.
They were like the first crops that grew on my land.
I promised to punish anyone who tried to hurt them.
I sent great trouble to those who attacked you.
That is what I, the Lord, have said.” ’
14 Israel's people are surely not slaves.
They were not born as slaves.
But their enemies have taken them away as prisoners.
15 Their enemies have attacked them like lions.
They have destroyed my people's land.
They have destroyed your cities with fire.
Nobody lives in them any more.
16 Soldiers from Memphis and Tahpanhes have broken your skulls![a]
17 You Israelites have caused this to happen.
The Lord your God was leading you on the right way.
But you decided not to follow him any longer.
18 So what help will you get from Egypt?
If you drink water from the Nile river,
will that make you strong? No!
And what help will you get from Assyria?
If you drink water from the Euphrates river,
will that make you strong? No!
19 The wicked things that you have done will punish you.
You are guilty because you have turned away from me.
You have brought terrible trouble on yourselves,
because you have turned against me, the Lord your God.
Because you no longer respect me,
you will realize that you are in great trouble.’
That is what the Lord God Almighty says.
20 ‘A long time ago, you stopped obeying me.
You refused to accept my authority.
You said, “I will not serve you!”
Instead, you go up on the hills to worship other gods.
You lie down under the green trees,
and you live like prostitutes.
21 I planted you in my land,
like the very good seed of a vine.
But see how you have changed!
You have become like a wild vine.
Your grapes are bad and useless.
22 You may use strong soap to make yourselves clean.
But I still see the dirt of your sins.’
That is what the Almighty Lord says.
The mother of James and John asks Jesus for something
20 Then the mother of James and John took them to see Jesus. (Their father was Zebedee.) She went down on her knees in front of Jesus. She asked him to do something good for her.
21 ‘What do you want me to do?’ Jesus asked her.
She said, ‘One day, you will be king. Then I want my two sons to rule with you. One may sit at your right side and the other one at your left side. Please will you do this?’
22 Jesus said to them, ‘You do not understand what you are asking for. I will have much pain and trouble. Are you ready to have the same pain?’
James and John replied, ‘Yes, we can do that.’
23 Jesus said to them, ‘Yes, that is true. You will have pain and trouble like mine. But I cannot promise that you will sit at my right side or at my left side. My Father God has chosen the people who will sit there. He has prepared the places for those people.’
24 When the other ten disciples heard about this, they were angry with the two brothers. 25 Then Jesus told all the 12 disciples to come to him. He said to them, ‘You know the things that rulers of other countries do. They show that they have great power over their people. The leaders of those countries use great authority over their people. 26 But you should not be like that. The person who wants to be great among you must become your servant. 27 The person who wants to be the most important person among you must work hard for everyone else. 28 Even the Son of Man himself came to earth to be a servant to other people. He did not come here to have servants who must work for him. No, he came to die so that many people can be free.’
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