Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

This is a special song that David wrote.

Tell God about your sins^[a]

Two new flat stones

34 The Lord said to Moses, ‘Cut two flat stones like the first stones. Then I will write on them all the words that I wrote on the first stones. Those were the stones that you broke into pieces.^{[a] 2} Make yourself ready in the morning and come up Sinai mountain. Stand there, ready to meet me on the top of the mountain. ³ Nobody must come with you. Nobody must go anywhere on the mountain. Even your sheep and your cows must not eat grass near the bottom of the mountain.’

⁴ So Moses cut two flat stones like the first stones. Early in the morning, he went up Sinai mountain, as the Lord had commanded him. He carried the two flat stones in his hands. ⁵ Then the Lord came down in the cloud. He came and he stood with Moses. The Lord spoke aloud his own name, the Lord.

⁶ The Lord passed in front of Moses. He said in a loud voice, ‘I am the Lord! The Lord! I am kind to people and I forgive them. I do not quickly become angry. My faithful love for my people continues for ever, and I am always faithful. ⁷ I faithfully love thousands of people. I forgive their sins when they turn against me. But if people are guilty, I surely punish them. I punish their children, their grandchildren and their grandchildren's children.’

⁸ Then Moses quickly bent down low to worship the Lord. ⁹ He said, ‘Lord, my God, if you are pleased with me, please travel with us! It is true that these people are proud and they often do not obey you. But please forgive all our sins. Please accept us as your own people.’

²⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write down these words. They are the rules of the covenant that I have made with you and with the Israelites.’

²⁸ Moses was there on the mountain with the Lord for 40 days and 40 nights. He did not eat anything or drink anything during that time. He wrote the words of God's covenant on the flat stones. Those were God's ten special commands.

¹⁰ Be careful! Do not think that any of these little people are not important. I tell you this. They have angels who watch over them. Those angels are always standing in front of my Father in heaven.^[a]

¹¹ [I, the Son of Man, came to look for those who are far away from God.]^[b]

¹² Think about a man who has 100 sheep. He discovers that one of his sheep is not there with the others. What does he do? He leaves all his other sheep on the hills. He goes to look for the one lost sheep. ¹³ And I tell you this: If he finds that lost sheep, he will be very happy. All the other sheep are safe together. But they do not make him as happy as this one sheep does. ¹⁴ God, your Father in heaven, is like that shepherd. He does not want any of these little people to be lost, not even one of them.’^[c]