Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

43 Vindicate me, O Elohim, and plead my cause against a nation lo chasid; O deliver me from the ish mirmah v’avlah (deceitful and unjust man).

² For Thou art the Elohei Ma’oz of me. Why dost Thou cast me off? Why must I go mourning because of the oppression of the oyev?

³ O send out Thy Ohr and Thy Emes; let them guide me; let them bring me unto Thy Har Kodesh, and to Thy Mishkan.

⁴ Then will I go unto the Mizbe’ach of Elohim, unto El my exceeding joy; yea, upon the kinnor will I praise Thee, O Elohim Elohai.

⁵ Why art thou cast down, O my nefesh? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in Elohim; for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the Yeshu’ot of my countenance, and Elohai.

⁶ A ben honoreth his av, and an eved his adon; if then I be an Av, where is Mine honor? And if I be Adonim, where is My reverence? saith Hashem Tzva’os unto you, O kohanim, that despise My Name. But ye say, Wherein have we despised Thy name?

⁷ Ye offer lechem mego’al (defiled food) upon Mine mizbe’ach; and ye say, Wherein have we defiled Thee? In that ye say, The shulchan of Hashem is to be despised.

⁸ And when ye offer the blind animal for sacrifice, is it not rah? And when ye offer the lame and diseased, is it not rah? Offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or receive thee? saith Hashem Tzva’os.

⁹ And now, I pray you, beseech G-d that He will be gracious unto us; with such offerings from your hand, will He receive you? saith Hashem Tzva’os.

¹⁰ Who is there even among you that would shut the dlatayim of the Beis Hamikdash so that eish would not be kindled on Mine mizbe’ach in vain? There is no chefetz (pleasure) to Me with you, saith Hashem Tzva’os, neither will I accept a minchah at your hand.

¹¹ For from the rising of the shemesh even unto the going down of the same My name shall be gadol among the Goyim; and in every place incense shall be offered unto My name, and a minchah tehorah; for My name shall be gadol among the Goyim, saith Hashem Tzva’os.

¹² But ye have committed chillul Hashem (desecration of the Name), in that ye say, The shulchan Adonoi is mego’al (defiled); and the fruit, even the food thereof, is contemptible.

¹³ Ye said also, Hinei, what a burden it is! And ye have sniffed scornfully at it, saith Hashem Tzva’os; and ye brought that which was injured, and the lame, and the diseased; thus ye brought a minchah; should I accept this of your hand? saith Hashem.

¹⁴ But cursed be the nokhel (cheat, swindler, charlatan), which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto Hashem the one being blemished; for I am a Melech Gadol, saith Hashem Tzva’os, and My name is to be feared among the Goyim.

2 And now, O ye kohanim, this mitzvah is for you.

² If ye will not hear, and if ye will not take it to lev, to give kavod unto My name, saith Hashem Tzva’os, I will even send a me’erah (curse) upon you, and I will curse your brakhot; yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not take it to lev.

³ Hineni, I am rebuking your zera, and I will spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your chagim; and it will take you away with it.

⁴ And ye shall have da’as that I have sent this mitzvah unto you, that My brit might continue with Levi, saith Hashem Tzva’os.

⁵ My brit was with him of chayyim and shalom; and I gave them to him that he might fear Me; so he feared Me, and stood in reverence before My name.

⁶ Torat emes was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found on his lips: he walked with Me in shalom and yashrus, and did turn rabbim (many) away from avon (iniquity).

⁷ For the kohen’s lips should preserve da’as, and they should seek torah at his mouth: for he is the malach Hashem Tzva’os.

⁸ But ye are departed out of HaDerech; ye have caused rabbim to fall into a michshol (stumbling block) at the torah (teaching); ye have corrupted the Brit of Levi saith Hashem Tzva’os.

⁹ Therefore have I also made you contemptible and shefalim before kol HaAm because ye have not been shomrim of darkhei of Me, but have shown partiality in torah.

¹³ But oy to you, Sofrim and Perushim, tzevuim (hypocrites), for in front of Bnei Adam you shut the Malchut HaShomayim. You do not go in yourselves, and the ones entering, you do not permit to enter.

¹⁴ Oy to you, Sofrim and Perushim, tzevuim! You devour the batim of almanot and for the sake of chashuve (importance) appearance you make long tefillot; therefore your gezar din (verdict) will be more severe.

¹⁵ Oy to you, Sofrim and Perushim, tzevuim. You travel over the sea and the dry land for the giyyur (proselytization) of one proselyte; then, when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of Gehinnom as you.

¹⁶ Oy to you, morei derech ivrim (blind guides), the, ones saying, Whoever swears by the Beis Hamikdash, it is a worthless shevuah (oath): but whoever swears by the gold of the Beis Hamikdash, he is obligated.

¹⁷ Ivrim! (blind ones), for which is greater, the gold or the Beis Hamikdash which gives the gold its kedushah (holiness, sanctity)?

¹⁸ And whoever swears by the Mizbeach (altar), it is worthless; but whoever swears by the korban upon it, he is obligated.

¹⁹ Ivrim, blind ones, for which is greater, the korban or Mizbeach which gives the korban its kedushah (holiness, sanctity)?

²⁰ Therefore, the one having sworn by the Mizbeach swears by it and everything upon it.

²¹ And the one having sworn by the Beis Hamikdash swears by it and by everything indwelling it.

²² And the one having sworn by Shomayim swears by the kes malchut of Hashem and by the One sitting upon the kes malchut.

²³ Oy to you, Sofrim and Perushim, tzevuim, for you give maasros (tithe) of mint and dill and cumin, and you have neglected the matters of the Torah of greater consequence: mishpat, chesed, and emunah. These things it was necessary to do and those [others] not to neglect.

²⁴ Morei derech ivrim (blind guides), the ones that strain out a gnat and swallow a camel.

²⁵ Oy to you, Sofrim and Perushim, tzevuim, you cleanse the outside of the kos (cup) and the dish, but inside they are full of chamdanut (greed) and taavanut (lust).

²⁶ Blind Parush, first cleanse the inside of the kos, that perhaps also the outside may become clean.

²⁷ Oy to you, Sofrim and Perushim, tzevuim, for you are like kevarim (graves) having been whitewashed, which on the outside indeed appear ois vaist (ostensibly) shein (beautiful), but on the inside are full of the unclean bones of the mesim (dead ones) and every trayfnyak.

²⁸ Thus on the outside you indeed appear tzodek (righteous) to Bnei Adam, but on the inside you are full of tzeviut (hypocrisy) and you are lawlessly against the Torah.