Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Put To Death People Who Worship Idols

Moses said to Israel:

^2-3 (A) The Lord your God is giving you towns to live in. But later, a man or a woman in your town may start worshiping other gods, or even the sun, moon, or stars.^[a] I have warned you not to worship other gods, because whoever worships them is disobeying the Lord and breaking the agreement he made with you. ⁴ So when you hear that someone in your town is committing this disgusting sin, you must carefully find out if that person really is guilty. ^5-7 (B) But you will need two or three witnesses—one witness isn't enough to prove a person guilty.

Get rid of those who are guilty of such evil. Take them outside your town gates and everyone must stone them to death. But the witnesses must be the first to throw stones.

Difficult Cases

Moses said to Israel:

^8-12 It may be difficult to find out the truth in some legal cases in your town. You may not be able to decide if someone was killed accidentally or murdered. Or you may not be able to tell whether an injury or some property damage was done by accident or on purpose. If the case is too difficult, take it to the court at the place where the Lord your God chooses to be worshiped.

This court will be made up of one judge and several priests^[b] who serve at the Lord's altar. They will explain the law to you and give you their decision about the case. Do exactly what they tell you, or you will be put to death. ¹³ When other Israelites hear about it, they will be afraid and obey the decisions of the court.

Obey Rulers

13 ^(A) Obey the rulers who have authority over you. Only God can give authority to anyone, and he puts these rulers in their places of power. ² People who oppose the authorities are opposing what God has done, and they will be punished. ³ Rulers are a threat to evil people, not to good people. There is no need to be afraid of the authorities. Just do right, and they will praise you for it. ⁴ After all, they are God's servants, and it is their duty to help you.

If you do something wrong, you ought to be afraid, because these rulers have the right to punish you. They are God's servants who punish criminals to show how angry God is. ⁵ But you should obey the rulers because you know it is the right thing to do, and not just because of God's anger.

^6 (B) You must also pay your taxes. The authorities are God's servants, and it is their duty to take care of these matters. ⁷ Pay all that you owe, whether it is taxes and fees or respect and honor.