Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹² Teach us to understand how many days we have. Then we will have a heart of wisdom to give You.

¹³ Return, O Lord. How long will it be? Have pity upon those who work for You. ¹⁴ Fill us in the morning with Your loving-kindness. Let us sing for joy and be glad all our days. ¹⁵ Make us glad for as many days as You have made us suffer, and for the years we have seen trouble. ¹⁶ Let Your work be shown to Your servants. And let Your wonderful greatness be shown to their children. ¹⁷ Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us. And make the work of our hands stand strong. Yes, make the work of our hands stand strong.

¹³ Hear and speak against the family of Jacob,” says the Lord God, the God of All. ¹⁴ “On the day I punish Israel for her sins, I will punish the altars of Bethel. The horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground. ¹⁵ I will destroy the winter house together with the summer house. The houses of ivory will be destroyed, and the beautiful houses will come to an end,” says the Lord.

4 Listen to this, you fat cows of Bashan who are on the mountain of Samaria. You make it hard for the poor. You crush those in need. You say to your husbands, “Bring us something to drink!” ² As the Lord God is holy, He has promised, “The days are coming when they will take you away with meat hooks. And the last of you will be taken with fish hooks. ³ You will go out through breaks in the walls. Each of you will go straight out. And you will be sent to Harmon,” says the Lord.

⁴ “Go to Bethel and sin! Go and sin much more in Gilgal! Bring your gifts in worship every morning. Every three days give a tenth part of what you receive. ⁵ Give a thank gift of bread made with yeast. And make your free-will gifts known. For this is what you love to do, O people of Israel,” says the Lord God.

Jesus Speaks Sharp Words to the Leaders ^(A)

15 Some of the teachers of the Law and the proud religious law-keepers from Jerusalem came to Jesus. They asked, ² “Why do Your followers not obey the teaching that was given to them by our fathers? They do not wash their hands before they eat.” ³ Jesus said to them, “Why do you break the Law of God by trying to keep their teaching? ⁴ For God said, ‘Show respect to your father and mother.’ ^(B) And, ‘He who curses his father or mother will be put to death.’ ^{(C) 5} But you say that if a man says to his parents that anything he has, that might have been of help to them, is already given to God, ⁶ he does not have to show respect by helping his father and mother. You are putting aside the Word of God to keep their teaching. ⁷ You who pretend to be someone you are not, Isaiah told about you. He said, ⁸ ’These people show respect to Me with their mouth, but their heart is far from Me. ⁹ Their worship of Me is worth nothing. They teach what men have made up.’” ^(D)