Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁶⁵ [Teth.] Good Thou didst with Thy servant, O Jehovah, According to Thy word.

⁶⁶ The goodness of reason and knowledge teach me, For in Thy commands I have believed.

⁶⁷ Before I am afflicted, I -- I am erring, And now Thy saying I have kept.

⁶⁸ Good Thou [art], and doing good, Teach me Thy statutes.

⁶⁹ Forged against me falsehood have the proud, I with the whole heart keep Thy precepts.

⁷⁰ Insensate as fat hath been their heart, I -- in Thy law I have delighted.

⁷¹ Good for me that I have been afflicted, That I might learn Thy statutes.

⁷² Better to me [is] the law of Thy mouth Than thousands of gold and silver!

² `When there is found in thy midst, in one of thy cities which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee, a man or a woman who doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah thy God by transgressing His covenant,

³ and he doth go and serve other gods, and doth bow himself to them, and to the sun, or to the moon, or to any of the host of the heavens, which I have not commanded --

⁴ and it hath been declared to thee, and thou hast heard, and hast searched diligently, and lo, truth; the thing is established; this abomination hath been done in Israel --

⁵ `Then thou hast brought out that man, or that woman, who hath done this evil thing, unto thy gates -- the man or the woman -- and thou hast stoned them with stones, and they have died.

⁶ By the mouth of two witnesses or of three witnesses is he who is dead put to death; he is not put to death by the mouth of one witness;

⁷ the hand of the witnesses is on him, in the first place, to put him to death, and the hand of all the people last; and thou hast put away the evil thing out of thy midst.

⁸ `When anything is too hard for thee for judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke -- matters of strife within thy gates -- then thou hast risen, and gone up unto the place on which Jehovah thy God doth fix,

⁹ and hast come in unto the priests, the Levites, and unto the judge who is in those days, and hast inquired, and they have declared to thee the word of judgment,

¹⁰ and thou hast done according to the tenor of the word which they declare to thee ([they] of that place which Jehovah doth choose; and thou hast observed to do according to all that they direct thee.

¹¹ `According to the tenor of the law which they direct thee, and according to the judgment which they say to thee thou dost do; thou dost not turn aside from the word which they declare to thee, right or left.

¹² And the man who acteth with presumption, so as not to hearken unto the priest (who is standing to serve there Jehovah thy God), or unto the judge, even that man hath died, and thou hast put away the evil thing from Israel,

¹³ and all the people do hear and fear, and do not presume any more.

13 Let every soul to the higher authorities be subject, for there is no authority except from God, and the authorities existing are appointed by God,

² so that he who is setting himself against the authority, against God's ordinance hath resisted; and those resisting, to themselves shall receive judgment.

³ For those ruling are not a terror to the good works, but to the evil; and dost thou wish not to be afraid of the authority? that which is good be doing, and thou shalt have praise from it,

⁴ for of God it is a ministrant to thee for good; and if that which is evil thou mayest do, be fearing, for not in vain doth it bear the sword; for of God it is a ministrant, an avenger for wrath to him who is doing that which is evil.

⁵ Wherefore it is necessary to be subject, not only because of the wrath, but also because of the conscience,

⁶ for because of this also pay ye tribute; for servants of God they are, on this very thing attending continually;

⁷ render, therefore, to all [their] dues; to whom tribute, the tribute; to whom custom, the custom; to whom fear, the fear; to whom honour, the honour.