Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

115 Glorify your name, not ours, O Lord! Cause everyone to praise your loving-kindness and your truth. ² Why let the nations say, “Their God is dead!”^[a]

³ For he is in the heavens and does as he wishes. ⁴ Their gods are merely man-made things of silver and of gold. ⁵ They can’t talk or see, despite their eyes and mouths! ⁶ Nor can they hear, nor smell, ⁷ nor use their hands or feet, nor speak! ⁸ And those who make and worship them are just as foolish as their idols are.

⁹ O Israel, trust the Lord! He is your helper. He is your shield. ¹⁰ O priests of Aaron, trust the Lord! He is your helper; he is your shield. ¹¹ All of you, his people, trust in him. He is your helper; he is your shield.

¹² Jehovah is constantly thinking about us, and he will surely bless us. He will bless the people of Israel and the priests of Aaron, ¹³ and all, both great and small, who reverence him.

¹⁴ May the Lord richly bless both you and your children. ¹⁵ Yes, Jehovah who made heaven and earth will personally bless you! ¹⁶ The heavens belong to the Lord, but he has given the earth to all mankind.

¹⁷ The dead cannot sing praises to Jehovah here on earth,^{[b] 18} but we can! We praise him forever! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

²⁹ In this way Aaron shall carry the names of the tribes of Israel on the chestpiece over his heart (it is God’s oracle) when he goes into the Holy Place; thus Jehovah will be reminded of them continually. ^30-31 Insert into the pocket of the chestpiece the Urim and Thummim,^[a] to be carried over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before Jehovah. Thus Aaron shall always be carrying the oracle over his heart when he goes in before the Lord.

“The ephod shall be made of blue cloth, ³² with an opening for Aaron’s head. It shall have a woven band around this opening, just as on the neck of a coat of mail, so that it will not fray. ^33-34 The bottom edge of the ephod shall be embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet pomegranates, alternated with gold bells. ³⁵ Aaron shall wear the ephod whenever he goes in to minister to the Lord; the bells will tinkle as he goes in and out of the presence of the Lord in the Holy Place, so that he will not die.

³⁶ “Next, make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, just as you would upon a seal, ‘Consecrated to Jehovah.’ ^37-38 This plate is to be attached by means of a blue ribbon to the front of Aaron’s turban. In this way Aaron will be wearing it upon his forehead, and thus bear the guilt connected with any errors regarding the offerings of the people of Israel. It shall always be worn when he goes into the presence of the Lord, so that the people will be accepted and forgiven.

³ All my prayers for you are full of praise to God! ⁴ When I pray for you, my heart is full of joy ⁵ because of all your wonderful help in making known the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. ⁶ And I am sure that God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns.

⁷ How natural it is that I should feel as I do about you, for you have a very special place in my heart. We have shared together the blessings of God, both when I was in prison and when I was out, defending the truth and telling others about Christ. ⁸ Only God knows how deep is my love and longing for you—with the tenderness of Jesus Christ. ⁹ My prayer for you is that you will overflow more and more with love for others, and at the same time keep on growing in spiritual knowledge and insight, ¹⁰ for I want you always to see clearly the difference between right and wrong, and to be inwardly clean, no one being able to criticize you from now until our Lord returns. ¹¹ May you always be doing those good, kind things that show you are a child of God, for this will bring much praise and glory to the Lord.