Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Trusting the Law of the Lord
41 Show me how much you love me, Lord,
and save me according to your promise.
42 Then I can answer those who insult me
because I trust in your word.
43 Enable me to speak the truth at all times,
because my hope is in your judgments.
44 I will always obey your law,
forever and ever.
45 I will live in perfect freedom,
because I try to obey your teachings.
46 I will announce your commands to kings
and I will not be ashamed.
47 I find pleasure in obeying your commands,
because I love them.
48 I respect and love your commandments;
I will meditate on your instructions.
The Great Commandment
6 “These are all the laws that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you. Obey them in the land that you are about to enter and occupy. 2 As long as you live, you and your descendants are to honor the Lord your God and obey all his laws that I am giving you, so that you may live in that land a long time. 3 Listen to them, people of Israel, and obey them! Then all will go well with you, and you will become a mighty nation and live in that rich and fertile land, just as the Lord, the God of our ancestors, has promised.
4 (A)“Israel, remember this! The Lord—and the Lord alone—is our God.[a] 5 (B)Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 (C)Never forget these commands that I am giving you today. 7 Teach them to your children. Repeat them when you are at home and when you are away, when you are resting and when you are working. 8 Tie them on your arms and wear them on your foreheads as a reminder. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.
20 “In times to come your children will ask you, ‘Why did the Lord our God command us to obey all these laws?’ 21 Then tell them, ‘We were slaves of the king of Egypt, and the Lord rescued us by his great power. 22 With our own eyes we saw him work miracles and do terrifying things to the Egyptians and to their king and to all his officials. 23 He freed us from Egypt to bring us here and give us this land, as he had promised our ancestors he would. 24 Then the Lord our God commanded us to obey all these laws and to honor him. If we do, he will always watch over our nation and keep it prosperous. 25 If we faithfully obey everything that God has commanded us, he will be pleased with us.’[a]
8 (A)You will be doing the right thing if you obey the law of the Kingdom, which is found in the scripture, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” 9 But if you treat people according to their outward appearance, you are guilty of sin, and the Law condemns you as a lawbreaker. 10 Whoever breaks one commandment is guilty of breaking them all. 11 (B)For the same one who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Even if you do not commit adultery, you have become a lawbreaker if you commit murder. 12 Speak and act as people who will be judged by the law that sets us free. 13 For God will not show mercy when he judges the person who has not been merciful; but mercy triumphs over judgment.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.