Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Leaders Should Be Good and Fair

32 Listen to what I say! A king should rule in a way that brings justice. Leaders should make fair decisions when they lead the people. ² If this would happen, the king^[a] would be like a shelter to hide from the wind and rain, like streams of water in a dry land, and like the cool shadow of a large rock in a hot land. ³ Then people would actually see what they look at. They would actually listen to what they hear. ⁴ People who are now confused would be able to understand. Those who cannot speak clearly now would be able to speak clearly and quickly. ⁵ Fools would not be called great men. People would not respect men who make secret plans.

⁶ Fools^[b] say foolish things, and in their minds they plan evil things to do. They want to do what is wrong. They say bad things about the Lord. They don’t let hungry people eat their food. They don’t let thirsty people drink the water. ⁷ They use evil like a tool and plan ways to steal from the poor. They tell lies about the poor and keep them from being judged fairly.

⁸ But a good leader plans good things to do, and that will make him a leader over other leaders.

¹² People who have the law and those who have never heard of the law are all the same when they sin. People who don’t have the law and are sinners will be lost. And, in the same way, those who have the law and are sinners will be judged by the law. ¹³ Hearing the law does not make people right with God. They will be right before him only if they always do what the law says.

¹⁴ Those who are not Jews don’t have the law. But when they naturally do what the law commands without even knowing the law, then they are their own law. This is true even though they don’t have the written law. ¹⁵ They show that in their hearts they know what is right and wrong, the same as the law commands, and their consciences agree. Sometimes their thoughts tell them that they have done wrong, and this makes them guilty. And sometimes their thoughts tell them that they have done right, and this makes them not guilty.

¹⁶ All this will happen on the day when God will judge people’s secret thoughts through Jesus Christ. This is part of the Good News that I tell everyone.