Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Teth.
65 You have dealt well with Your servant,
O Lord, according to Your word.
66 Teach me good [a](A)discernment and knowledge,
For I believe in Your commandments.
67 (B)Before I was afflicted I went astray,
But now I keep Your word.
68 You are (C)good and (D)do good;
(E)Teach me Your statutes.
69 The arrogant [b]have (F)forged a lie against me;
With all my heart I will (G)observe Your precepts.
70 Their heart is [c](H)covered with fat,
But I (I)delight in Your law.
71 It is (J)good for me that I was afflicted,
That I may learn Your statutes.
72 The (K)law of Your mouth is better to me
Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
2 “(A)If there is found in your midst, in any of your [a]towns, which the Lord your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, by transgressing His covenant, 3 and has gone and (B)served other gods and worshiped them, (C)or the sun or the moon or any of the heavenly host, (D)which I have not commanded, 4 and if it is told you and you have heard of it, then you shall inquire thoroughly. Behold, if it is true and the thing certain that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, 5 then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has done this evil deed to your gates, that is, the man or the woman, and (E)you shall stone them to [b]death. 6 (F)On the [c]evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the [d]evidence of one witness. 7 (G)The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. (H)So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
8 “(I)If any case is too difficult for you to decide, between [e]one kind of homicide or another, between [f]one kind of lawsuit or another, and between [g]one kind of assault or another, being cases of dispute in your [h]courts, then you shall arise and go up to (J)the place which the Lord your God chooses. 9 So you shall come to (K)the Levitical priest or the judge who is in office in those days, and you shall inquire of them and they will declare to you the verdict in the case. 10 You shall do according to the [i]terms of the verdict which they declare to you from that place which the Lord chooses; and you shall be careful to observe according to all that they teach you. 11 (L)According to the [j]terms of the law which they teach you, and according to the verdict which they tell you, you shall do; you shall not turn aside from the word which they declare to you, to the right or the left. 12 The man who acts (M)presumptuously by not listening to the priest who stands there to serve the Lord your God, nor to the judge, that man shall die; thus you shall purge the evil from Israel. 13 Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and will not act (N)presumptuously again.
Be Subject to Government
13 Every [a](A)person is to be in (B)subjection to the governing authorities. For (C)there is no authority except [b]from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore [c]whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 3 For (D)rulers are not a cause of fear for [d]good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; 4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an (E)avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. 5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also (F)for conscience’ sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7 (G)Render to all what is due them: (H)tax to whom tax is due; (I)custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.