Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

[KEDOSHIM]

19 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,

² Speak unto kol Adat Bnei Yisroel, and say unto them, Ye shall be kedoshim (holy ones): for I Hashem Eloheichem am kadosh.

¹⁵ Ye shall do no avel bamishpat (perversion of justice); thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor favor the person of the gadol; but in tzedek shalt thou judge thy neighbor.

¹⁶ Thou shalt not go up and down as a rakhil (talebearer, slanderer) among thy people; neither shalt thou stand aside while thy neighbor’s dahm is shed; I am Hashem.

¹⁷ Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine lev; thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not bear chet because of him.

¹⁸ Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the bnei ammecha (children of thy people), v’ahavta l’re’acha kamocha (but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself): I am Hashem.

1 Blessed is the ish that walketh not in the Etzah (counsel, scheme) of the Resha’im, nor standeth in the Derech Chatta’im, nor sitteth in the Moshav (seat) of the Leitzim (scornful, ones mocking and reviling).

² But his delight is in the Torat Hashem; and in His torah doth he meditate yomam v’lailah.

³ And he shall be like an etz planted by the streams of mayim, that bringeth forth its p’ri in its season; the leaf thereof also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

⁴ The Resha’im are not so, but are like the chaff which the ruach driveth away.

⁵ Therefore the Resha’im shall not stand in the Mishpat, nor Chatta’im (sinners) in the Adat Tzaddikim.

⁶ For Hashem knoweth the Derech Tzaddikim, but the Derech Resha’im shall perish. T.N. The next Psalm says that the whole world, all the earth, is, or will be, the possession of Moshiach, and that Hashem assures Moshiach of this; therefore, the Great Commission (Mt 28:19-20) was given to preach Moshiach to the ends of the earth that the whole world may hear.

2 But you yourselves know, Chaverim b’Moshiach, that our initial reception with you was not empty of result.

² On the contrary, having suffered before and having been shamefully persecuted (as you know) in Philippi, we had the chozek b’Eloheinu (strength in our G-d) to speak to you the Besuras HaGeulah of Hashem in the face of tzorrim rabbim (great and oppressive enemy opposition).

³ For our appeal, our eidus (witness of testimony), does not spring from toyus (error) or meshuga delusion or from tum’a (uncleanness) or from remiyah (guile, deceit).

⁴ On the contrary, in this way we speak: as persons examined and approved by G-d to be entrusted with the Besuras HaGeulah of Hashem, as striving to please not men but Hashem who tests, who examines, our levavot.

⁵ Nor did we ever come with divrei chanuppah (words of flattery), as you know, nor with pretext for chamdanut (greed)‖Der Oybershter is mine eidus! (G-d is my witness!)

⁶ Nor seeking kavod from men, neither from you nor from others.

⁷ Even though we had the samchut [authority] to be able to throw our weight around as Shlichim (Emissaries) of Moshiach, yet we became anav (humble) and eidel (gentle) among you, as a nursing imma (mother) might take care of her own yeladim.

⁸ Thus having a tshuka (yearning) for you, it was our good pleasure to share with you not only the Besuras HaGeulah of Hashem, but also our very lives, because you became beloved chaverim to us.

³⁴ But the Perushim, having heard that he silenced the Tzedukim, assembled together,

³⁵ And one of them, a Baal Torah (learned Torah scholar, a Ben Torah), tried to trip up Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach with a she’elah (question):

³⁶ Rabbi, which mitzvah is gedolah (great) in the Torah?

³⁷ And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach gave this teshuva (answer) to the Baal Torah, VAHAVTAH ES ADONOI ELOHECHA BCHOL LEVAVCHA UVCHOL NAFSHECHA UVCHOL MODECHA (And thou shalt love the L-rd thy G-d with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might [DEVARIM 6:5]).

³⁸ This is the gedolah and rishonah mitzvah.

³⁹ And the second mitzvah is like it: VAHAVTAH LREIACHA KAMOCHA (And thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, [VAYIKRA 19:18]).

⁴⁰ On these two mitzvot hang the entire Torah and the Neviim.

⁴¹ And, the Perushim, having been assembled, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach confronted with this she’elah,

⁴² Saying, What do you think concerning the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach? Whose Ben is he? The Perushim gave this teshuva (answer) to him: Ben Dovid.

⁴³ Moshiach says to them, How then can Dovid, in the Ruach Hakodesh, call Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach Adon?... saying

⁴⁴ NEUM HASHEM LAADONI, SHEV LIMINI AD ASHIT OYVECHA HADOM LERAGLECHA (Utterance of Hashem to my L-rd, Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet TEHILLIM 110:1).

⁴⁵ Therefore, if Dovid calls him Adon [i.e., Adoneinu], how is Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach [merely] Ben Dovid? [cf. MALACHI 3:1; ZECHARYAH 4:14]

⁴⁶ And no one was able to give an answer to him, nor did anyone dare to pose another she’elah (question) to Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach from that day on.