Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
112 [a] Praise the Lord!
Great blessings belong to those who fear and respect the Lord,
who are happy to do what he commands.
2 Their descendants will be given power on earth.
Those who do right will be greatly blessed.
3 Their family will be very rich,
and their goodness will continue forever.
4 A light shines in the dark for those who are good,
for those who are merciful, kind, and fair.
5 It is good for people to be kind and generous
and to be fair in business.
6 Such good people will never fall.
They will always be remembered.
7 They will not be afraid of bad news.
They are confident because they trust in the Lord.
8 They remain confident and without fear,
so they defeat their enemies.
9 They freely give to the poor.
Their goodness will continue forever.
They will be honored with victory.
10 The wicked become angry when they see this.
They grind their teeth in anger, but then they disappear.
They will never get what they want most.
13 The Lord says, “These people come to honor me with words, but I am not really important to them. The worship they give me is nothing but human rules they have memorized. 14 So I will continue to amaze them by doing powerful and amazing things. Their wise men will lose their wisdom. Even the most intelligent among them will not be able to understand.”
15 Look at them! They try to hide things from the Lord. They think he will not understand. They do their evil things in darkness. They tell themselves: “No one can see us. No one will know who we are.”
16 You turn things upside down. You think the clay is equal to the potter. You think that something that is made can tell the one who made it, “You did not make me!” This is like a pot telling its maker, “You know nothing.”
God’s Law and Human Traditions(A)
7 Some Pharisees and some teachers of the law came from Jerusalem and gathered around Jesus. 2 They saw that some of his followers ate food with hands that were not clean, meaning that they did not wash their hands in a special way. 3 The Pharisees and all the other Jews never eat before washing their hands in this special way. They do this to follow the traditions they have from their great leaders who lived long ago. 4 And when these Jews buy something in the market, they never eat it until they wash it in a special way. They also follow other rules from their people who lived before them. They follow rules like the washing of cups, pitchers, and pots.[a]
5 The Pharisees and teachers of the law said to Jesus, “Your followers don’t follow the traditions we have from our great leaders who lived long ago. They eat their food with hands that are not clean. Why do they do this?”
6 Jesus answered, “You are all hypocrites. Isaiah was right when he wrote these words from God about you:
‘These people honor me with their words,
but I am not really important to them.
7 Their worship of me is worthless.
The things they teach are only human rules.’ (B)
8 You have stopped following God’s commands, preferring instead the man-made rules you got from others.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International