Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Aleph[a]
119 Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of Yahweh.
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies;
they seek him with a whole heart.
3 They also do no wrong;
they walk in his ways.
4 You have commanded[b] your precepts,
that we should keep them diligently.
5 Oh that my ways were steadfast,
to keep your statutes!
6 Then I would not be ashamed
when I look to all your commands.
7 I will give you thanks with an upright heart,
when I learn your righteous laws.
8 I will heed your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.
34 Then the land shall enjoy its Sabbaths all the days of its lying desolate, and you shall be in the land of your enemies; then the land shall rest, and it shall enjoy its Sabbaths. 35 All the days of its lying desolate it shall rest for the time[a] that it had not rested during your Sabbaths while you were living on it. 36 As for[b] the ones who remain among you, I will bring[c] fearfulness in their hearts in the land of their enemies; and a sound of a windblown leaf shall pursue them, and they shall flee like flight before[d] a sword, and they shall fall, but[e] there shall not be a pursuer. 37 And they shall stumble over one another[f] as from before[g] a sword, but[h] there shall not be a pursuer; and you shall have no resistance[i] before[j] your enemies. 38 And you shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you. 39 And because of their guilt, the ones among you who remain shall decay in the land of their enemies; and also because of the iniquities of their ancestors,[k] they shall decay with them.
40 “‘But[l] when they confess their guilt and the guilt of their ancestors[m] in their infidelity that they displayed against me, and moreover that they went against me in hostility— 41 I myself[n] also[o] went against them in hostility, and I brought them into the land of their enemies—or if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and then they pay for their guilt, 42 I will remember[p] my covenant with Jacob; and I will remember also my covenant with Isaac and also my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. 43 And the land shall be deserted by them, and it shall enjoy its Sabbaths in its being desolate from them, and they themselves[q] must pay for their guilt, simply because[r] they rejected my regulations, and their inner self[s] abhorred my statutes. 44 And in spite of[t] this, when they are[u] in the land of their enemies I will not reject them, and I will not abhor them to destroy them, to break my covenant with them, because I am Yahweh their God. 45 And I will remember the first covenant for them[v]—whom I brought out from the land of Egypt in the sight of[w] the nations to be their God.[x] I am Yahweh.’”
46 These are the rules and the regulations and the laws that Yahweh gave between himself and the Israelites[y] on Mount Sinai[z] through[aa] Moses.
7 Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the message which you have heard. 8 Again, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in him and in you, because[a] the darkness is passing away and the true light already is shining. 9 The one who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness until now. 10 The one who loves his brother resides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Encouragement and Assurance
12 I am writing to you, little children, because[b] your sins have been forgiven you on account of his name. 13 I am writing to you, fathers, because[c] you have known the One who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because[d] you have conquered the evil one. 14 I have written to you, children, because[e] you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because[f] you have known the One who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because[g] you are strong, and the word of God resides in you, and you have conquered the evil one.
Do Not Love the World
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him, 16 because everything that is in the world—the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the arrogance of material possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and its desire,[h] but the one who does the will of God remains forever[i].
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