Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Mem
Loving God’s Word
97 How I love your instruction![a]
Every day it is my meditation.
98 Your commands make me wiser than my adversaries,
since they are always with me.
99 I am more insightful than my teachers,
because your decrees are my meditations.
100 I have more common sense than the elders,
for I observe your precepts.
101 I keep away from every evil choice[b]
so that I may keep your word.[c]
102 I do not avoid your judgments,
for you pointed them out to me.
103 How pleasing is what you have to say to me—
tasting better than honey.
104 I obtain understanding from your precepts;
therefore I hate every false way.
The People Confess Their Sins
9 On the twenty-fourth day of this same month, the Israelis gathered together while fasting, wearing sackcloth, and covering themselves with dust. 2 The remnant[a] of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners. Then they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors. 3 While they stood there, they read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for one fourth of the day, and they confessed and worshipped the Lord their God for another[b] fourth of the day.
The Descendants of Levi’s Prayer of Blessing
4 Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the rostrum assigned for use by the descendants of Levi and cried out loudly to the Lord their God. 5 Then the descendants of Levi—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said,
“Stand up and bless the Lord your God
from eternity to eternity!
Blessed be your glorious name!
May it be exalted above all blessing and praise!
6 “You are the Lord;
you alone crafted the heavens,
the highest heavens
with all of their armies;
the earth, and everything in it;
the seas, and everything in them;
you keep giving all of them life,
and the army of heaven continuously worships you.
7 You are the Lord,
the God who chose Abram,
whom you brought from Ur of the Chaldeans
and to whom you gave the name Abraham.
8 You found him[c] faithful in your sight;
you made a covenant with him
and you gave the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites,
the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites,
and the Girgashites to his descendants.
And you have kept your word,
because you are righteous.
9 “You took note of the affliction of our ancestors in Egypt,
and listened to their cry at the Red Sea.
10 You sent signs and wonders against Pharaoh,
against all of his officials,
and against all the people of his land,
because you knew they acted arrogantly against your people.[d]
So you established your name with them,
as it remains to this day.
11 You divided the sea in front of them,
and they traveled through the midst of the sea on dry ground.
You hurled their pursuers into the depths,
as one throws[e] a stone into turbulent waters.
12 You led them during the day by a pillar of cloud,
and by a pillar of fire at night
to provide light for them
on the path they took.
13 “You also came down to Mount Sinai,
spoke with them from heaven,
and gave them impartial regulations, true laws,
statutes, and good commands.
14 You revealed to them your holy Sabbath,
and you mandated precepts, statutes, and laws
through Moses your servant.
15 You gave them food from heaven for their hunger
and water from the rock for their thirst.
You directed them to enter and possess the land
that you had promised to give them.
21 and you will submit to one another out of reverence for[a] the Messiah.[b]
Wives and Husbands
22 Wives, submit yourselves[c] to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of his wife as the Messiah[d] is the head of the church. It is he who is the Savior of the body. 24 Indeed, just as the church is submissive to the Messiah,[e] so wives must be submissive[f] to their husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives as the Messiah[g] loved the church and gave himself for it, 26 so that he might make it holy by cleansing it, washing it with water and the word, 27 and might present the church to himself in all its glory, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind, but holy and without fault. 28 In the same way, husbands must love their wives as they love[h] their own bodies. A man who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one has ever hated his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, as the Messiah[i] does[j] the church.
30 For we are parts of his body—of his flesh and of his bones.[k] 31 “That is why a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”[l] 32 This is a great secret, but I am talking about the Messiah[m] and the church. 33 But each individual man among you must love his wife as he loves[n] himself; and may the wife fear her husband.
Advice for Children and Parents
6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord,[o] for this is the right thing to do. 2 “Honor your father and mother…”[p] (This is a very important commandment with a promise.) 3 “…so that it may go well for you, and that you may have a long life on the earth.”[q]
4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up by training[r] and instructing them about the Lord.
Advice for Slaves and Masters
5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear, trembling, and sincerity, as when you obey[s] the Messiah.[t] 6 Do not do this only while you’re being watched in order to please them, but be like slaves of the Messiah,[u] who are determined to obey God’s will. 7 Serve willingly, as if you were serving the Lord and not merely people,[v] 8 because you know that everyone will receive a reward from the Lord for whatever good he has done, whether he is a slave or free.
9 Masters, treat your slaves[w] the same way. Do not threaten them, for you know that both of you have the same Master in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.
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