Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
12 Teach us how short our lives are
so that we can become wise.
13 Lord, come back to us.
Be kind to your servants.
14 Fill us with your love every morning.
Let us be happy and enjoy our lives.
15 For years you have made life hard for us and have given us many troubles.
Now make us happy for just as long.
16 Let your servants see the wonderful things you can do for them.
And let their children see your glory.
17 Lord, our God, be kind to us.
Make everything we do successful.
Yes, make it all successful.
The Ten Commandments
5 Moses called together all the Israelites and said to them, “Israelites, listen to the laws and rules that I tell you today. Learn these laws and be sure to obey them. 2 The Lord our God made an agreement with us at Mount Horeb. 3 The Lord did not make this agreement with our ancestors, but with us—yes, with all of us who are alive here today. 4 The Lord spoke with you face to face at that mountain. He spoke to you from the fire. 5 But you were afraid of the fire. And you did not go up the mountain. So I stood between you and the Lord to tell you what the Lord said. He said,
6 ‘I am the Lord your God. I am the one who freed you from Egypt, where you were slaves.
7 ‘You must not worship any other gods except me.
8 ‘You must not make any idols. Don’t make any statues or pictures of anything up in the sky or of anything on the earth or of anything down in the water. 9 Don’t worship or serve idols of any kind, because I am the Lord your God. I hate for my people to worship other gods.[a] People who sin against me become my enemies. And I will punish them, and their children, their grandchildren, and even their great-grandchildren. 10 But I will be very kind to people who love me and obey my commands. I will be kind to their families for thousands of generations![b]
11 ‘You must not use the name of the Lord your God to make empty promises. If you do, the Lord will not let you go unpunished.
12 ‘You must keep the Sabbath a special day like the Lord your God commanded. 13 Work six days a week and do your job, 14 but the seventh day is a day of rest in honor of the Lord your God. So on that day no one should work—not you, your sons and daughters, foreigners living in your cities or your men and women slaves. Not even your cattle, donkeys, and other animals should do any work! Your slaves should be able to rest just as you do. 15 Don’t forget that you were slaves in the land of Egypt. The Lord your God brought you out of Egypt with his great power and made you free. That is why the Lord your God commands you to always make the Sabbath a special day.
16 ‘You must honor your father and your mother. The Lord your God has commanded you to do this. If you follow this command, you will live a long time, and everything will go well for you in the land that the Lord your God gives you.
17 ‘You must not murder anyone.
18 ‘You must not commit the sin of adultery.
19 ‘You must not steal.
20 ‘You must not tell lies about other people.[c]
21 ‘You must not want another man’s wife. You must not want his house, his fields, his men and women servants, his cattle, or his donkeys. You must not want to take anything that belongs to another person.’”
We Must Continue to Follow God
7 So it is just as the Holy Spirit says:
“If you hear God’s voice today,
8 don’t be stubborn as you were in the past,
when you turned against God.
That was the day you tested God in the desert.
9 For 40 years in the desert, your people saw what I did.
But they tested me and my patience.
10 So I was angry with them.
I said, ‘Their thoughts are always wrong.
They have never understood my ways.’
11 So I was angry and made a promise:
‘They will never enter my place of rest.’” (A)
12 So, brothers and sisters, be careful that none of you has the evil thoughts that cause so much doubt that you stop following the living God. 13 But encourage each other every day, while you still have something called “today.[a]” Help each other so that none of you will be fooled by sin and become too hard to change. 14 We have the honor of sharing in all that Christ has if we continue until the end to have the sure faith we had in the beginning. 15 That’s why the Spirit said,
“If you hear God’s voice today,
don’t be stubborn as in the past
when you turned against God.” (B)
16 Who were those who heard God’s voice and turned against him? It was all the people Moses led out of Egypt. 17 And who was God angry with for 40 years? He was angry with those who sinned. And their dead bodies were left in the desert. 18 And which people was God talking to when he promised that they would never enter his place of rest? He was talking to those who did not obey him. 19 So we see that they were not allowed to enter and have God’s rest, because they did not believe.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International