Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
To the Director: On a stringed instrument.[a] A Davidic Psalm.
Divine Glory and Human Dignity
8 Lord, our Lord,
how excellent is your name in all the earth!
You set your glory above the heavens!
2 Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies
you have established strength[b]
on account of your adversaries,
in order to silence the enemy and vengeful foe.
3 When I look at the heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you established—
4 what is man that you take notice of him,
or the son of man[c] that you pay attention to him?
5 You made him a little less than divine,[d]
but you crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You gave him dominion over the work of your hands,
you put all things under his feet:
7 Sheep and cattle—all of them,
wild creatures of the field,
8 birds in the sky,
fish in the sea—
whatever moves through the currents of the oceans.
9 Lord, our Lord,
how excellent is your name in all the earth!
A Burial Place for Sarah
23 Sarah lived for 127 years. That’s how long Sarah’s life was. 2 She died in Kiriath-arba (that is, in Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went in[a] to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 3 Then Abraham stood up from beside his dead wife[b] and addressed the Hittites. He said, 4 “I am an alien and an outsider among you. Give me a cemetery among you where I can bury my dead away from my presence.”
5 The Hittites responded to Abraham, 6 “Listen to us, sir.[c] You are a mighty prince[d] among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our burial tombs. None of us would refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.”
7 Abraham rose and bowed before the Hittites, the people of the land, 8 and addressed them, “If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, listen to me and make a request of Zohar’s son Ephron on my behalf. 9 Give me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him, at the end of his field. He should sell[e] it to me in your presence at full price for a burial site.”
10 Now since Ephron the Hittite had taken a seat there among the Hittites, he responded publicly to Abraham where the Hittites and everyone who was entering the gate of his city could hear him: 11 “No, sir.[f] Listen to me! I’ll give you the field, and I’ll give you the cave that’s in it. I give it to you publicly, in the sight of my people. Bury your dead.”
12 Abraham bowed before the people of the land 13 and then addressed Ephron so all the people of the land could hear him: “Please listen to me! I’m willing to pay the price of the field. Accept it from me, so I may bury my dead there.”
14 So Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “Sir,[g] listen to me! The land is worth 400 shekels of silver, but what’s that between us? You may bury your dead.”
16 Abraham agreed with Ephron, so he[h] weighed out to Ephron the money to which he had agreed publicly while the Hittites were listening: 400 shekels of silver at the current merchant rate.
17 That’s how Ephron’s field in Machpelah, east of[i] Mamre—the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were within the boundaries of[j] the field—came to be deeded 18 to Abraham in the presence of all the Hittites and everyone who was entering the city gate. 19 After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave at the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre (that is, in Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 And so the field with its cave was deeded by the Hittites to Abraham as a burial site.
The Law and the Kingdom of God(A)
14 Now the Pharisees, who love money, had been listening to all this and began to ridicule Jesus.[a] 15 So he told them, “You try to justify yourselves in front of people, but God knows your hearts, because what is highly valued by people is detestable to God.
16 “The Law and the Prophets were fulfilled[b] with John. Since then, the good news about the kingdom of God is being proclaimed, and everybody enters it enthusiastically.[c] 17 However, it is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for one stroke of a letter in the Law to be dropped. 18 Any man who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”
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