Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 15
A psalm of David.
15 Who can live in your tent, Lord?
Who can dwell on your holy mountain?
2 The person who
lives free of blame,
does what is right,
and speaks the truth sincerely;
3 who does no damage with their talk,
does no harm to a friend,
doesn’t insult a neighbor;
4 someone who despises
those who act wickedly,
but who honors those
who honor the Lord;
someone who keeps their promise even when it hurts;
5 someone who doesn’t lend money with interest,
who won’t accept a bribe against any innocent person.
Whoever does these things will never stumble.
15 Moses then turned around and came down the mountain. He carried the two covenant tablets in his hands. The tablets were written on both sides, front and back. 16 The tablets were God’s own work. What was written there was God’s own writing inscribed on the tablets. 17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “It sounds like war in the camp.”
18 But Moses said,
“It isn’t the sound of a victory song.
It isn’t the sound of a song of defeat.
The sound of party songs is what I hear.”
19 When he got near the camp and saw the bull calf and the dancing, Moses was furious. He hurled the tablets down and shattered them in pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20 He took the calf that they had made and burned it in a fire. Then he ground it down to crushed powder, scattered it on the water, and made the Israelites drink it.
21 Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you that you led them to commit such a terrible sin?”
22 Aaron replied, “Don’t get angry with me, sir. You know yourself that these people are out of control.[a] 23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods who can lead us. As for this man Moses who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don’t have a clue what has happened to him.’ 24 So I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, take it off!’ So they gave it to me, I threw it into the fire, and out came this bull calf!”
25 Moses saw that the people were out of control because Aaron had let them get out of control, making them an easy target for their enemies. 26 So Moses stood at the camp’s gate and said, “Whoever is on the Lord’s side, come to me!” All the Levites gathered around him. 27 Moses said to them, “This is what the Lord, Israel’s God, says: Each of you, strap on your sword! Go back and forth from one end of the camp to the other. Each of you, kill your brother, your friend, and your neighbor!” 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded. About three thousand people were killed that day. 29 Moses said, “Today you’ve been ordained to the Lord, each one of you at the cost of a son or a brother. Today you’ve gained a special blessing for yourselves.”
30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You’ve committed a terrible sin. So now I will go up to the Lord. Maybe I can arrange reconciliation on account of your sin.” 31 So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a terrible sin these people have committed! They made for themselves gods[b] of gold. 32 But now, please forgive their sin! And if not, then wipe me out of your scroll that you’ve written.”
33 But the Lord said to Moses, “The ones I’ll wipe out of my scroll are those who sinned against me. 34 Now go and lead the people to the place I described to you. My messenger here will go in front of you. When the day of reckoning comes, I’ll count their sin against them.” 35 Then the Lord sent a plague on the people because of what they did with the bull calf that Aaron made.
9 Brothers and sisters who are poor should find satisfaction in their high status. 10 Those who are wealthy should find satisfaction in their low status, because they will die off like wildflowers. 11 The sun rises with its scorching heat and dries up the grass so that its flowers fall and its beauty is lost. Just like that, in the midst of their daily lives, the wealthy will waste away. 12 Those who stand firm during testing are blessed. They are tried and true. They will receive the life God has promised to those who love him as their reward.
Our cravings versus God’s gifts
13 No one who is tested should say, “God is tempting me!” This is because God is not tempted by any form of evil, nor does he tempt anyone. 14 Everyone is tempted by their own cravings; they are lured away and enticed by them. 15 Once those cravings conceive, they give birth to sin; and when sin grows up, it gives birth to death.
16 Don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible