Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Command to Love God

6 These are the commands, rules and laws of the Lord your God. He told me to teach them to you. Obey them in the land you are crossing the Jordan River to own. ² You, your children and grandchildren must respect the Lord your God. You must do this as long as you live. Obey all his rules and commands I give you. Then you will live a long time. ³ Listen, Israel, and carefully obey these laws. Then all will go well for you. You will become a great nation in a land where much food grows. The Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised it to you.

⁴ Listen, people of Israel! The Lord is our God. He is the only Lord. ⁵ Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength. ⁶ Always remember these commands I give you today. ⁷ Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and walk along the road. Talk about them when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Write them down and tie them to your hands as a sign. Tie them on your forehead to remind you. ⁹ Write them on your doors and gates.

²⁰ In the future your son will ask you, “What do the laws, commands and rules the Lord our God gave us mean?” ²¹ Tell him, “We were slaves to the king of Egypt. But the Lord brought us out of Egypt by his great power. ²² The Lord showed us great and terrible signs and miracles. He did them to Egypt, the king and his whole family. ²³ The Lord brought us out of Egypt. He led us here. And he will give us the land he promised our ancestors. ²⁴ The Lord ordered us to obey all these commands. And we must respect the Lord our God. Then we will always do well and stay alive as we are today. ²⁵ The right thing for us to do is this: Obey all these rules in the presence of the Lord our God. He has commanded it.”

⁸ One law rules over all other laws. This royal law is found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”^[a] If you obey this law, then you are doing right. ⁹ But if you are treating one person as if he were more important than another, then you are sinning. That royal law proves that you are guilty of breaking God’s law. ¹⁰ A person might follow all of God’s law. But if he fails to obey even one command, he is guilty of breaking all the commands in that law. ¹¹ God said, “You must not be guilty of adultery.”^[b] The same God also said, “You must not murder anyone.”^[c] So if you do not take part in adultery, but you murder someone, then you are guilty of breaking all of God’s law. ¹² You will be judged by the law that makes people free. You should remember this in everything you say and do. ¹³ Yes, you must show mercy to others, or God will not show mercy to you when he judges you. But the person who shows mercy can stand without fear when he is judged.