CCC Cross Reference:
Mt 7:15 2285; Mt 7:20 2005
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Reading 1
2 Kgs 22:8-13; 23:1-3
The high priest Hilkiah informed the scribe Shaphan,
“I have found the book of the law in the temple of the Lord.”
Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, who read it.
Then the scribe Shaphan went to the king and reported,
“Your servants have smelted down the metals available in the temple
and have consigned them to the master workmen
in the temple of the Lord.”
The scribe Shaphan also informed the king
that the priest Hilkiah had given him a book,
and then read it aloud to the king.
When the king heard the contents of the book of the law,
he tore his garments and issued this command to Hilkiah the priest,
Ahikam, son of Shaphan,
Achbor, son of Micaiah, the scribe Shaphan,
and the king’s servant Asaiah:
“Go, consult the Lord for me, for the people, for all Judah,
about the stipulations of this book that has been found,
for the anger of the Lord has been set
furiously ablaze against us,
because our fathers did not obey the stipulations of this book,
nor fulfill our written obligations.”
The king then had all the elders of Judah
and of Jerusalem summoned together before him.
The king went up to the temple of the Lord with all the men of Judah
and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem:
priests, prophets, and all the people, small and great.
He had the entire contents of the book of the covenant
that had been found in the temple of the Lord, read out to them.
Standing by the column, the king made a covenant before the Lord
that they would follow him
and observe his ordinances, statutes and decrees
with their whole hearts and souls,
thus reviving the terms of the covenant
which were written in this book.
And all the people stood as participants in the covenant.
Responsorial Psalm
119:33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40
R. (33a) Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Instruct me, O LORD, in the way of your statutes,
that I may exactly observe them.
R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Give me discernment, that I may observe your law
and keep it with all my heart.
R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Lead me in the path of your commands,
for in it I delight.
R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Incline my heart to your decrees
and not to gain.
R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Turn away my eyes from seeing what is vain:
by your way give me life.
R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Behold, I long for your precepts;
in your justice give me life.
R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Gospel
Mt 7:15-20
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing,
but underneath are ravenous wolves.
By their fruits you will know them.
Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Just so, every good tree bears good fruit,
and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down
and thrown into the fire.
So by their fruits you will know them.”
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading 2 Kings 22:8 - 23:3
The high priest Hilkiah said to Shaphan the secretary, ‘I have found the Book of the Law in the Temple of the Lord.’’’ And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, who read it. Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him as follows, ‘Your servants’ he said ‘have melted down the silver which was in the Temple and have handed it over to the masters of works attached to the Temple of the Lord.’ Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, ‘Hilkiah the priest has given me a book’; and Shaphan read it aloud in the king’s presence.
On hearing the contents of the Book of the Law, the king tore his garments, and gave the following order to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s minister: ‘Go and consult the Lord, on behalf of me and the people, about the contents of this book that has been found. Great indeed must be the anger of the Lord blazing out against us because our ancestors did not obey what this book says by practising everything written in it.’
The king then had all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem summoned to him, and the king went up to the Temple of the Lord with all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, priests, prophets and all the people, of high or low degree. In their hearing he read out everything that was said in the book of the covenant found in the Temple of the Lord. The king stood beside the pillar, and in the presence of the Lord he made a covenant to follow the Lord and keep his commandments and decrees and laws with all his heart and soul, in order to enforce the terms of the covenant as written in that book. All the people gave their allegiance to the covenant.
Responsorial Psalm:
Psalm 118(119):33-37,40
Lord, teach me your statutes.
Teach me the demands of your statutes
and I will keep them to the end.
Train me to observe your law,
to keep it with my heart.
Lord, teach me your statutes.
Guide me in the path of your commands;
for there is my delight.
Bend my heart to your will
and not to love of gain.
Lord, teach me your statutes.
Keep my eyes from what is false;
by your word, give me life.
See, I long for your precepts;
then in your justice, give me life.
Lord, teach me your statutes.
Gospel Matthew 7:15 – 20
Jesus said, ‘Beware of false prophets who come to you disguised as sheep but underneath are ravenous wolves. You will be able to tell them by their fruits. Can people pick grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, a sound tree produces good fruit but a rotten tree bad fruit. A sound tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a rotten tree bear good fruit. Any tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown on the fire. I repeat, you will be able to tell them by their fruits.’
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Wednesday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time
From: 2 Kings 22:8-13; 23:1-3
The book of the Law is discovered
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[8] And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, "I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord." And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. [9] And Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king, "Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord." [10] Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read it before the king.
Huldah the prophetess is consulted
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[11] And when the king heard the words of the book of the law, he rent his clothes. [12] And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shephan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shephan the secretary, and Assiah the king's servant, saying, [13] "Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us."
A solemn reading of the Book of the Covenant
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Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. [2] And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which had been found in the house of the Lord. [3] And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book; and all the people joined in the covenant.
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Commentary:
22:1-23-23:30. Much space is given to the account of Josiah's reign, but the focus is entirely on its religious aspects.
The text gives the impression that Josiah's reform took place in a single year, after the finding of the book of the covenant; but it must have been the fruit of a long process, and Jeremiah's prophetical activity (cf. Jer 1:2; 22:15-16) must have been a strong influence from the very start. Neither Jeremiah nor Zephaniah (cf. Zeph 1:1) is mentioned in this book.
The Assyrian empire began to decline at this time and the power of the Medes and the Babylonians was growing apace (Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, was destroyed in 621 BC). All this allowed Josiah to free himself from Assyria and try to build up the kingdom of Judah. But the Lord had already decided the fate of Judah and Jerusalem (cf. 23:26-27).
22:1-23:3. Josiah's reform was based on the words of a book found in the temple. This book is thought to have been a part of the present book of Deuteronomy, perhaps Deuteronomy 12:1-26:19, given that the reform embarked on by the king is in line with the rules given there about having only one place of worship (cf. Deut 12:2-7). Deuteronomy refers to itself as the "book of the law" (Deut 29:20; 31:26).
22:3-10. As befitting a pious king, Josiah's first concern is to repair the temple in which the Lord dwells. To carry out that restoration (much needed, for two hundred years had passed since the previous restoration, and the excesses of Manasseh had done much damage), Josiah applies the dispositions laid down by Jehoash (cf. 12:10-16).
22:11-20. This is all we know of the prophetess Huldah. She may well have been consulted because she was living in Jerusalem (v. 14). The justification given for God's decision is the evil conduct of Josiah's predecessors. As regards Josiah himself, he is not told that he will die a natural death, but that the catastrophe which looms will not happen in his lifetime (v. 20).
The New Vulgate interprets that the king's heart repented on hearing the words "of the book" ("voluminis": v. 18-19; cf. 2 Chron 34:27).
23:1-3. Josiah and his people renew the Covenant on the basis of the book containing the decrees and rulings of the Lord. That book becomes, thereby, the "Book of the Covenant", and it acquires a sacred and normative status for all future generations. When Jesus institutes the new Covenant sealed with and based on his blood (cf. Mk 14:22-25; 1 Cor 11:23-25), that book, together with others which completed it, will continue to bear witness to the Old Covenant, and the Church will in due course call it the Old Testament.
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From: Matthew 7:15-20
False Prophets
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(Jesus said to His disciples,) [15] "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. [16] You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? [17] So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. [18] A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. [19] Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. [20] Thus you will know them by their fruits."
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Commentary:
15-20. There are many references in the Old Testament to false prophets; perhaps the best-known passage is Jeremiah 23:9-40 which condemns the impiety of those prophets who "prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray"; "who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes; they speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord [...]. I did not send the prophets, yet they ran. I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied"; they "lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them; so that they do not profit this people at all."
In the life of the Church the Fathers see these false prophets, as of whom Jesus speaks, in heretics, who apparently are pious and reformist but who in fact do not have Christ's sentiments (cf. St Jerome, "Comm. in Matth.", 7). St John Chrysostom applies this teaching to anyone who appears to be virtuous but in fact is not, and thereby misleads others.
How are false prophets and genuine prophets to be distinguished? By the fruit they produce. Human nobility and divine inspiration combine to give the things of God a savor of their own. A person who truly speaks the things of God sows faith, hope, charity, peace and understanding; whereas a false prophet in the Church of God, in his preaching and behavior, sows division, hatred, resentment, pride and sensuality (cf. Gal 5:16-25). However, the main characteristic of a false prophet is that he separates the people of God from the Magisterium of the Church, through which Christ's teaching is declared to the world. Our Lord also indicates that these deceivers are destined to eternal perdition.
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
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