Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Moses Tells Israel to Obey

4 “Now, O Israel, listen to the Laws I am teaching you. Do them so that you may live and go in to take the land for your own that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. ² Do not add to the Word that I tell you, and do not take away from it. Keep the Laws of the Lord your God which I tell you.

⁶ Keep them and do them. For this will show how wise and understanding you are. The people who will hear all these Laws will say, ‘For sure this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ ⁷ For what great nation is there that has a god so near as the Lord our God is to us every time we call to Him? ⁸ What great nation is there that has laws as right as this whole Law which I am giving you today?

⁹ “Only be careful. Keep watch over your life. Or you might forget the things you have seen. Do not let them leave your heart for the rest of your life. But teach them to your children and to your grandchildren.

Good Men

15 O Lord, who may live in Your tent? Who may live on Your holy hill? ² He who walks without blame and does what is right and good, and speaks the truth in his heart. ³ He does not hurt others with his tongue, or do wrong to his neighbor, or bring shame to his friend. ⁴ He looks down upon a sinful person, but honors those who fear the Lord. He keeps his promises even if it may hurt him. ⁵ He gives money to be used without being paid for its use. And he does not take money to hurt those who are not guilty. He who does these things will never be shaken.

¹⁷ Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God. He is the One Who made all light. He does not change. No shadow is made by His turning. ¹⁸ He gave us our new lives through the truth of His Word only because He wanted to. We are the first children in His family.

¹⁹ My Christian brothers, you know everyone should listen much and speak little. He should be slow to become angry. ²⁰ A man’s anger does not allow him to be right with God. ²¹ Put out of your life all that is unclean and wrong. Receive with a gentle spirit the Word that was taught. It has the power to save your souls from the punishment of sin.

²² Obey the Word of God. If you hear only and do not act, you are only fooling yourself. ²³ Anyone who hears the Word of God and does not obey is like a man looking at his face in a mirror. ²⁴ After he sees himself and goes away, he forgets what he looks like. ²⁵ But the one who keeps looking into God’s perfect Law and does not forget it will do what it says and be happy as he does it. God’s Word makes men free.

²⁶ If a person thinks he is religious, but does not keep his tongue from speaking bad things, he is fooling himself. His religion is worth nothing. ²⁷ Religion that is pure and good before God the Father is to help children who have no parents and to care for women whose husbands have died who have troubles. Pure religion is also to keep yourself clean from the sinful things of the world.

Jesus Speaks Sharp Words to the Leaders ^(A)

7 The proud religious law-keepers and some of the teachers of the Law had come from Jerusalem. They gathered around Jesus. ² They had seen some of His followers eat bread without washing their hands. ³ The proud religious law-keepers and all the Jews never eat until they wash their hands. They keep the teaching that was given to them by their early fathers. ⁴ When they come from the stores, they never eat until they wash. There are many other teachings they keep. Some are the washing of cups and pots and pans in a special way.

⁵ Then the proud religious law-keepers and the teachers of the Law asked Jesus, “Why do Your followers not obey the teaching given to them by their early fathers? They eat bread without washing their hands.” ⁶ He said to them, “Isaiah told about you who pretend to be someone you are not. Isaiah wrote, ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. ⁷ Their worship of Me is worth nothing. They teach what men say must be done.’ ^{(B) 8} You put away the Laws of God and obey the laws made by men.”

¹⁴ Jesus called the people to Him again. He said, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand this. ¹⁵ It is not what goes into a man’s mouth from the outside that makes his mind and heart sinful. It is what comes out from the inside that makes him sinful.

²¹ From the inside, out of the heart of men come bad thoughts, sex sins of a married person, sex sins of a person not married, killing other people, ²² stealing, wanting something that belongs to someone else, doing wrong, lying, having a desire for sex sins, having a mind that is always looking for sin, speaking against God, thinking you are better than you are and doing foolish things. ²³ All these bad things come from the inside and make the man sinful.”