Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
BOOK ONE
Psalms 1–41
The Way of the Righteous and the End of the Ungodly
1 Blessed (A)is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the [a]ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
(B)Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But (C)his delight is in the law of the Lord,
(D)And in His law he [b]meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree
(E)Planted by the [c]rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall (F)prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so,
But are (G)like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For (H)the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Confession and Restitution(A)
5 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Speak to the children of Israel: (B)‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit in unfaithfulness against the Lord, and that person is guilty, 7 (C)then he shall confess the sin which he has committed. He shall make restitution for his trespass (D)in full, plus one-fifth of it, and give it to the one he has wronged. 8 But if the man has no [a]relative to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for the wrong must go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to (E)the ram of the atonement with which atonement is made for him. 9 Every (F)offering[b] of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be (G)his. 10 And every man’s [c]holy things shall be his; whatever any man gives the priest shall be (H)his.’ ”
Qualified Elders
5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should (A)set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you— 6 if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, (B)having faithful children not accused of [a]dissipation or insubordination. 7 For a [b]bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, (C)not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, 8 but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, 9 holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.
The Elders’ Task
10 For there are many insubordinate, both idle (D)talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11 whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, (E)for the sake of dishonest gain. 12 (F)One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. (G)Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not giving heed to Jewish fables and (H)commandments of men who turn from the truth. 15 (I)To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. 16 They profess to (J)know God, but (K)in works they deny Him, being [c]abominable, disobedient, (L)and disqualified for every good work.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.