Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Blessed State of the Righteous
112 Praise[a] the Lord!
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
Who (A)delights greatly in His commandments.
2 (B)His descendants will be mighty on earth;
The generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 (C)Wealth and riches will be in his house,
And his righteousness [b]endures forever.
4 (D)Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness;
He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
5 (E)A good man deals graciously and lends;
He will guide his affairs (F)with discretion.
6 Surely he will never be shaken;
(G)The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.
7 (H)He will not be afraid of evil tidings;
His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
8 His (I)heart is established;
(J)He will not be afraid,
Until he (K)sees his desire upon his enemies.
9 He has dispersed abroad,
He has given to the poor;
His righteousness endures forever;
His [c]horn will be exalted with honor.
10 The wicked will see it and be grieved;
He will gnash his teeth and melt away;
The desire of the wicked shall perish.
13 Therefore the Lord said:
(A)“Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths
And honor Me (B)with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,
14 (C)Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work
Among this people,
A marvelous work and a wonder;
(D)For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.”
15 (E)Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the Lord,
And their works are in the dark;
(F)They say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us?”
16 Surely you have things turned around!
Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay;
For shall the (G)thing made say of him who made it,
“He did not make me”?
Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it,
“He has no understanding”?
Defilement Comes from Within(A)
7 Then (B)the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem. 2 Now [a]when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with (C)unwashed hands, [b]they found fault. 3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands [c]in a special way, holding the (D)tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.
5 (E)Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?”
6 He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you (F)hypocrites, as it is written:
(G)‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
7 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men—[d]the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.