Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

This is a song that David wrote for the music leader.

Lord, please help me!

A message to the people in Israel

⁶ The Lord says, ‘The people in Israel have done more and more wrong things. So I will certainly punish them.

They sold people that did not do wrong things. They sold them for silver. And they sold poor people for only the price of shoes. ⁷ They are not kind to poor people and they do not help them. A father and his son have sex with the same woman. They do not respect the holy way that I want them to live. ⁸ When they lend money to poor people, they take the poor people's clothes.^[a] They do not return the clothes each night, as they should do. Instead they sleep on the clothes themselves. They do that at the places where they worship their gods. The rich people take money from poor people. They use that money to buy wine for themselves. Then they drink the wine in the temples of their gods.

⁹ Remember the Amorites. They were big and strong. They were like the tallest cedar trees and the strongest oak trees. But I destroyed all of them. ¹⁰ I brought you out of Egypt. After that, I led you through the wilderness for 40 years. Then I took you to the land where the Amorites lived, so that it would belong to you. ¹¹ I chose some men among you to be prophets, and some to be Nazirites.^[b] You Israelites know that it is true.’ That is what the Lord says.

We should not speak against other people

7 Jesus then said, ‘Do not say to anyone, “You are a bad person.” If you do that, God will say to you, “You are a bad person.” ² God will think about you in the same way that you think about other people. He will use the same rules for you as you use for other people.

³ Perhaps you want to tell your friend about his little mistake. If you want to do that, first remember your own bigger mistakes. ⁴ You are like a person who has a big piece of wood in his eye. But then he says to his friend, “Let me take that little piece of dirt out of your eye for you.” ⁵ Do not be like that person. You think that you are better than your friend. But you are not. First, you must take the big piece of wood out of your own eye. After that, your eyes will see clearly. Then you can take the small piece of dirt out of your friend's eye.^[a]

⁶ Do not give special things that are for God to dogs. The dogs will turn round and attack you. Do not throw valuable things to pigs. The pigs will only stand on them and bury them in the dirt.’^[b]