Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Word of God
ALEPH[a]
119 God has blessed people who always do what is right.
They obey the Lord's Law.
2 They agree to live by his rules.[b]
They love to pray to him.
God has blessed people like that.
3 Also, they do nothing that is wrong.
They live in a way that please the Lord.
4 You, Lord, have told us to obey your teaching carefully.
5 I want to be able to obey your laws all the time.
6 When I remember all your commands,
I will not be ashamed.
7 When I learn your good rules,
I will do what is right and I will thank you.
8 Yes, I will obey your laws.
Please do not turn away from me!
God will bless his people again
30 I have told you about the ways that God may bless you and the ways that he may curse you. If you do not obey the Lord your God, he will send you away to live in many foreign countries. When that happens, you will think about what I have said. 2 Then you and your children may decide to turn back to the Lord. You may choose to obey him completely in everything that you think and in everything that you do. That is what I am commanding you to do today. 3 If you do that, the Lord your God will bring you back home and he will forgive you. He will turn to help you again. He will bring you back from the countries where he sent you to live. 4 He will bring back even those of you who live in countries that are very far away. You will all come back to live together again. 5 He will bring you back to the land that belonged to your ancestors. It will belong to you as your home. He will help you even more than he helped your ancestors. He will make you more in number than your ancestors were. 6 The Lord your God will change you so that you want to serve him. He will do that for your descendants too. Then you will love him completely in everything that you think and in everything that you do. You will continue to live in your land.
7 When that happens, the Lord your God will punish your enemies with all these terrible troubles, instead of you. He will punish the people who hate you and do cruel things to you. 8 You will turn back to the Lord. You will obey all his commands that I am giving you today. 9 The Lord your God will cause all your work to go very well. He will give you many children. Your animals will give birth to many babies. Lots of crops will grow in your fields. The Lord will be happy to help you again, as he was happy to help your ancestors.
Jesus tells the Pharisees and teachers of God's Law to obey God
15 After that, a group of Pharisees and teachers of God's Law came from Jerusalem to talk to Jesus. 2 They said, ‘Our leaders in past times taught us the right way to do everything. But your disciples do not obey the things that our leaders taught us. They do not wash their hands in the right way before they eat a meal. Why is that?’
3 Jesus replied, ‘God tells us the right way to obey him. But you refuse. Instead, you like to keep your own ideas. 4 God's Law says: “You must love your father and mother and obey them.” God also said, “A person should die if he says bad things against his father or against his mother.” 5 But you teach that a person may say to his father or to his mother, “I would have given gifts to help you. But I cannot do that because I have given them to God instead.” 6 Then, you let that person give nothing to his parents. He does not have to help them. This shows that you have not obeyed what God says is right. Instead, you have obeyed your own ideas. 7 You are hypocrites! What God's prophet Isaiah wrote about you long ago is true:
8 God says, “These people say good things about me,
but they do not really want to obey me.
9 They say that I am great.
But what they say has no purpose.
They teach their own rules, which I did not give to them.” ’
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