Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Word of God
119 Happy are those who live pure lives,
who follow the Lord’s teachings.
2 Happy are those who keep his rules,
who try to obey him with their whole heart.
3 They don’t do what is wrong;
they follow his ways.
4 Lord, you gave your orders
to be obeyed completely.
5 I wish I were more loyal
in obeying your demands.
6 Then I would not be ashamed
when I study your commands.
7 When I learned that your laws are fair,
I praised you with an honest heart.
8 I will obey your demands,
so please don’t ever leave me.
The Israelites Will Return
30 When all these blessings and curses I have described happen to you, and the Lord your God has sent you away to other nations, think about these things. 2 Then you and your children will return to the Lord your God, and you will obey him with your whole being in everything I am commanding you today. 3 Then the Lord your God will give you back your freedom. He will feel sorry for you, and he will bring you back again from the nations where he scattered you. 4 He may send you to the ends of the earth, but he will gather you and bring you back from there, 5 back to the land that belonged to your ancestors. It will be yours. He will give you success, and there will be more of you than there were of your ancestors. 6 The Lord your God will prepare you and your descendants to love him with your whole being so that you will live. 7 The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies, who hate you and are cruel to you. 8 And you will again obey the Lord, keeping all his commands that I give you today. 9 The Lord your God will make you successful in everything you do. You will have many children, your cattle will have many calves, and your fields will produce good crops, because the Lord will again be happy with you, just as he was with your ancestors.
Obey God’s Law
15 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem. They asked him, 2 “Why don’t your followers obey the unwritten laws which have been handed down to us? They don’t wash their hands before they eat.”
3 Jesus answered, “And why do you refuse to obey God’s command so that you can follow your own teachings? 4 God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’[a] and ‘Anyone who says cruel things to his father or mother must be put to death.’[b] 5 But you say a person can tell his father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you, but I have given it to God already.’ 6 You teach that person not to honor his father or his mother. You rejected what God said for the sake of your own rules. 7 You are hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he said about you:
8 ‘These people show honor to me with words,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 Their worship of me is worthless.
The things they teach are nothing but human rules.’” Isaiah 29:13
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.