Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Praise for God’s Goodness
111 Praise the Lord!
I will thank the Lord with all my heart
in the meeting of his good people.
2 The Lord does great things.
Those people who love them think about them.
3 What he does is glorious and splendid.
His goodness continues forever.
4 His miracles are unforgettable.
The Lord is kind and merciful.
5 He gives food to those who fear him.
He remembers his agreement forever.
6 He has shown his people his power
when he gave them the lands of other nations.
7 Everything he does is good and fair.
All his orders can be trusted.
8 They will continue forever.
They were made true and right.
9 He sets his people free.
He made his agreement everlasting.
He is holy and wonderful.
10 Wisdom begins with respect for the Lord.
Those who obey his orders have good understanding.
He should be praised forever.
Rules for Cleaning Mildew
33 The Lord also said to Moses and Aaron, 34 “I am giving the land of Canaan to your people. When they enter that land, I might cause mildew to grow in someone’s house. 35 The owner of that house must come and tell the priest. He should say, ‘I have seen something like mildew in my house.’ 36 Then the priest must order the people to empty the house. They must do this before he goes in to look at the mildew. This is so he will not have to say that everything in the house is unclean. After the people have emptied the house, the priest will go in to look at it. 37 He will look at the mildew. The mildew on the walls of the house might be green or red. It might go into the wall’s surface. 38 If these things are true, he must go out and close up the house for seven days. 39 On the seventh day the priest must come back and check the house. The mildew may have spread on the walls of the house. 40 If it has, the priest must order the people to tear out the stones with the mildew on them. They should throw the stones away. They must put the stones at a certain unclean place outside the city. 41 Then the priest must have all the inside of the house scraped. The people must throw away the plaster they scraped off the walls. They must put the plaster at a certain unclean place outside the city. 42 Then the owner must put new stones in the walls. And he must cover the walls with new clay plaster.
43 “A person may have taken away the old stones and plaster. He may have put in new stones and plaster. But mildew may again appear in his house. 44 If it does, the priest must come back and check the house again. If the mildew has spread in the house, it is a mildew that destroys things. So the house is unclean. 45 Then the owner must tear down the house. He must remove all its stones, plaster and wood. He must take them to the unclean place outside the city. 46 Anyone who goes into that house will be unclean until evening. 47 Anyone who eats in that house or lies down there must wash his clothes.
48 “After new stones and plaster have been put in a house, the priest must check it again. The mildew may not have spread in the house. Then the priest will announce that the house is clean. This is because the mildew is gone.
49 “Then, to make the house clean, the priest must take two birds. He must also take a piece of cedar wood, a piece of red cloth and a hyssop plant. 50 He will kill one bird in a clay bowl containing fresh water. 51 Then he will take the other bird that is still alive. He will also take the cedar wood, the hyssop and the red cloth. He will dip the living bird and other things into the blood. (This is the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water.) Then the priest will sprinkle the blood on the house seven times. 52 He will use the bird’s blood, the fresh water and the live bird. And he will use the cedar wood, the hyssop and the red cloth. With these things he will make the house clean. 53 The priest will go to an open field outside the city. And he will let the living bird go free. This is how the priest makes the house clean and ready for service to the Lord.”
13 Follow the true teachings you heard from me. Follow them as an example of the faith and love we have in Christ Jesus. 14 Protect the truth that you were given. Protect it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
15 You know that everyone in Asia has left me, even Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 I pray that the Lord will show mercy to the family of Onesiphorus. He has often helped me and was not ashamed that I was in prison. 17 When he came to Rome, he looked for me until he found me. 18 I pray that the Lord will allow Onesiphorus to have mercy from the Lord on that Day. You know how many ways Onesiphorus helped me in Ephesus.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.