Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 15
A Description of the Godly
A Davidic psalm.
2 The one who lives honestly, practices righteousness,
and acknowledges the truth in his heart(C)—
3 who does not slander with his tongue,(D)
who does not harm his friend
or discredit his neighbor,(E)
4 who despises the one rejected by the Lord[a]
but honors those who fear the Lord,(F)
who keeps his word whatever the cost,(G)
5 who does not lend his money at interest(H)
or take a bribe against the innocent(I)—
the one who does these things will never be moved.(J)
15 Then Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides—inscribed front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was God’s writing, engraved on the tablets.(A)
17 When Joshua heard the sound of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a sound of war in the camp.”
18 But Moses replied:
It’s not the sound of a victory cry
and not the sound of a cry of defeat;
I hear the sound of singing!
19 As he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became enraged and threw the tablets out of his hands, smashing them at the base of the mountain. 20 Then he took the calf they had made, burned it up, and ground it to powder. He scattered the powder over the surface of the water and forced the Israelites to drink the water.
21 Then Moses asked Aaron, “What did these people do to you that you have led them into such a grave sin?”
22 “Don’t be enraged, my lord,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know that the people are intent on evil.(B) 23 They said to me, ‘Make us a god[a] who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!’ 24 So I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, take it off,’ and they gave it to me. When I threw it into the fire, out came this calf!”
25 Moses saw that the people were out of control, for Aaron had let them get out of control, resulting in weakness before their enemies.[b] 26 And Moses stood at the camp’s entrance and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites gathered around him. 27 He told them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Every man fasten his sword to his side; go back and forth through the camp from entrance to entrance, and each of you kill his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’”(C) 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and about 3,000 men fell dead that day among the people. 29 Afterward Moses said, “Today you have been dedicated[c] to the Lord, since each man went against his son and his brother. Therefore you have brought a blessing on yourselves today.”(D)
30 The following day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a grave sin. Now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I will be able to atone for your sin.”(E)
31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, these people have committed a grave sin; they have made a god of gold for themselves.(F) 32 Now if You would only forgive their sin. But if not, please erase me from the book You have written.”(G)
33 The Lord replied to Moses: “I will erase whoever has sinned against Me from My book.(H) 34 Now go, lead the people to the place I told you about; see, My angel will go before you. But on the day I settle accounts, I will hold them accountable for their sin.”(I) 35 And the Lord inflicted a plague on the people for what they did with the calf Aaron had made.
9 The brother of humble circumstances should boast in his exaltation, 10 but the one who is rich should boast in his humiliation because he will pass away like a flower of the field.(A) 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and dries up the grass; its flower falls off, and its beautiful appearance is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will wither away while pursuing his activities.(B)
12 A man who endures trials[a] is blessed, because when he passes the test he will receive the crown(C) of life that God[b] has promised to those who love Him.(D)
13 No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God.” For God is not tempted by evil,[c] and He Himself doesn’t tempt anyone. 14 But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desires.(E) 15 Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.(F)
16 Don’t be deceived, my dearly loved brothers.(G)
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