Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
105 Your word is like a lamp for my feet
and a light for my path.
106 I will do what I have promised
and obey your fair laws.
107 I have suffered for a long time.
Lord, give me life by your word.
108 Lord, accept my willing praise
and teach me your laws.
109 My life is always in danger,
but I haven’t forgotten your teachings.
110 Wicked people have set a trap for me,
but I haven’t strayed from your orders.
111 I will follow your rules forever,
because they make me happy.
112 I will try to do what you demand
forever, until the end.
6 Go watch the ants, you lazy person.
Watch what they do and be wise.
7 Ants have no commander,
no leader or ruler,
8 but they store up food in the summer
and gather their supplies at harvest.
9 How long will you lie there, you lazy person?
When will you get up from sleeping?
10 You sleep a little; you take a nap.
You fold your hands and lie down to rest.
11 So you will be as poor as if you had been robbed;
you will have as little as if you had been held up.
12 Some people are wicked and no good.
They go around telling lies,
13 winking with their eyes, tapping with their feet,
and making signs with their fingers.
14 They make evil plans in their hearts
and are always starting arguments.
15 So trouble will strike them in an instant;
suddenly they will be so hurt no one can help them.
16 There are six things the Lord hates.
There are seven things he cannot stand:
17 a proud look,
a lying tongue,
hands that kill innocent people,
18 a mind that thinks up evil plans,
feet that are quick to do evil,
19 a witness who lies,
and someone who starts arguments among families.
Warning About Adultery
20 My son, keep your father’s commands,
and don’t forget your mother’s teaching.
21 Keep their words in mind forever
as though you had them tied around your neck.
22 They will guide you when you walk.
They will guard you when you sleep.
They will speak to you when you are awake.
23 These commands are like a lamp;
this teaching is like a light.
And the correction that comes from them
will help you have life.
Jesus Is the Light of the World
12 Later, Jesus talked to the people again, saying, “I am the light of the world. The person who follows me will never live in darkness but will have the light that gives life.”
13 The Pharisees said to Jesus, “When you talk about yourself, you are the only one to say these things are true. We cannot accept what you say.”
14 Jesus answered, “Yes, I am saying these things about myself, but they are true. I know where I came from and where I am going. But you don’t know where I came from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards. I am not judging anyone. 16 But when I do judge, I judge truthfully, because I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me. 17 Your own law says that when two witnesses say the same thing, you must accept what they say. 18 I am one of the witnesses who speaks about myself, and the Father who sent me is the other witness.”
19 They asked, “Where is your father?”
Jesus answered, “You don’t know me or my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father, too.” 20 Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the Temple, near where the money is kept. But no one arrested him, because the right time for him had not yet come.
The People Misunderstand Jesus
21 Again, Jesus said to the people, “I will leave you, and you will look for me, but you will die in your sins. You cannot come where I am going.”
22 So the Jews asked, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he said, ‘You cannot come where I am going’?”
23 Jesus said, “You people are from here below, but I am from above. You belong to this world, but I don’t belong to this world. 24 So I told you that you would die in your sins. Yes, you will die in your sins if you don’t believe that I am he.”
25 They asked, “Then who are you?”
Jesus answered, “I am what I have told you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and decide about you. But I tell people only the things I have heard from the One who sent me, and he speaks the truth.”
27 The people did not understand that he was talking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, you will know that I am he. You will know that these things I do are not by my own authority but that I say only what the Father has taught me. 29 The One who sent me is with me. I always do what is pleasing to him, so he has not left me alone.” 30 While Jesus was saying these things, many people believed in him.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.