Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Send Forth Your Light

Psalm 43

Despicable Sacrifices

⁶ “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. So if I am Father, where is My honor? If I am Master, where is My reverence?”—says Adonai-Tzva’ot—“you, kohanim who despise My Name!”

But you say, “How did we despise Your Name?”

⁷ “By offering defiled bread on My altar.” But you say, “How did we defile You?” When you say, “The table of Adonai is despicable.”

⁸ “When you bring a blind one as sacrifice, is it not wrong? Or when you bring a lame or sick one, is it not wrong? Offer them now to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Or will he acknowledge you favorably?” says Adonai-Tzva’ot.

⁹ “So now, implore God’s favor! Then, will He be gracious to us? Since this has come from your hands, will He accept any of it from you?” says Adonai-Tzva’ot.

¹⁰ “If just one of you would shut the doors, and not light My altar uselessly! I have no delight in you,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot. “Nor will I accept any offering from your hand.

¹¹ “For from sunrise to its setting^[a] My Name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to My Name with a pure grain offering, for My Name will be great among the nations,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot.

¹² But you are profaning it when you say, “The table of Adonai is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food—despicable!” ¹³ You also say, “It’s so tedious!”

“And you sniff at it,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot. “So you bring plunder, the lame and the sick. Then you bring them as the offering. Should I accept this from your hand?” says Adonai.

¹⁴ “Moreover, cursed is a deceiver who has in his flock a male, but makes a vow and sacrifices something blemished to my Lord. For I am a great King,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot, “and My Name shall be revered among the nations.”

Warning to the Kohanim and Levites

¹³ “But woe to you, Torah scholars and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not enter yourselves, nor do you let those enter who are trying to go in. (¹⁴ )^[a]

¹⁵ “Woe to you, Torah scholars and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel over land and sea to make one convert. And when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of Gehenna as yourself.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘Whoever swears by the Temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the Temple, he is obligated.’ ¹⁷ O fools and blind ones! Which is greater, the gold or the Temple that made the gold holy? ^{[b] 18} And you say, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.’ ¹⁹ O blind ones! Which is greater, the offering or the altar that makes the offering holy? ^{[c] 20} Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and everything on it. ²¹ And whoever swears by the Temple, swears both by the Temple and by Him who dwells in it. ²² And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.

²³ “Woe to you, Torah scholars and Pharisees, hypocrites! You tithe^[d] mint and dill and cumin, yet you have neglected the weightier matters of Torah—justice and mercy and faithfulness. It is necessary to do these things without neglecting the others. ²⁴ O blind guides, straining out a gnat while swallowing a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you, Torah scholars and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and uncontrolled desire. ²⁶ O blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.

²⁷ “Woe to you, Torah scholars and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. ²⁸ In the same way, you appear righteous to men on the outside, but are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.