Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
BOOK 1
The Righteous and the Wicked Contrasted.
1 How blessed is the man who (A)does not walk in the (B)counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the [a](C)path of sinners,
Nor (D)sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his (E)delight is (F)in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates (G)day and (H)night.
3 He will be like (I)a tree firmly planted by [b]streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its [c]leaf does not wither;
And [d]in whatever he does, (J)he prospers.
5 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Speak to the sons of Israel, ‘(A)When a man or woman commits any of the sins of mankind, acting unfaithfully against the Lord, and that person is guilty, 7 then [a]he shall (B)confess [b]his sins which [c]he has committed, and he (C)shall make restitution in full for his wrong and add to it one-fifth of it, and give it to him whom he has wronged. 8 But if the man has no [d]relative to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution which is made for the wrong must go to the Lord for the priest, besides the ram of atonement, by which atonement is made for him. 9 (D)Also every [e]contribution pertaining to all the holy gifts of the sons of Israel, which they offer to the priest, shall be his. 10 So every man’s holy gifts shall be his; whatever any man gives to the priest, it (E)becomes his.’”
Qualifications of Elders
5 For this reason I left you in (A)Crete, that you would set in order what remains and (B)appoint (C)elders in every city as I directed you, 6 namely, (D)if any man is above reproach, the (E)husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of (F)dissipation or (G)rebellion. 7 For the [a](H)overseer must be above reproach as (I)God’s steward, not (J)self-willed, not quick-tempered, not (K)addicted to wine, not pugnacious, (L)not fond of sordid gain, 8 but (M)hospitable, (N)loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, 9 (O)holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in (P)sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.
10 (Q)For there are many (R)rebellious men, (S)empty talkers and deceivers, especially (T)those of the circumcision, 11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting (U)whole families, teaching (V)things they should not teach (W)for the sake of sordid gain. 12 One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, “(X)Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. For this reason (Y)reprove them (Z)severely so that they may be (AA)sound in the faith, 14 not paying attention to Jewish (AB)myths and (AC)commandments of men who (AD)turn away from the truth. 15 (AE)To the pure, all things are pure; but (AF)to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their (AG)mind and their conscience are defiled. 16 (AH)They profess to know God, but by their deeds they (AI)deny Him, being (AJ)detestable and (AK)disobedient and (AL)worthless (AM)for any good deed.
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