Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Teth
65 You have treated Your servant well,
Lord, according to Your word.
66 Teach me good [a](A)discernment and knowledge,
For I believe in Your commandments.
67 (B)Before I was afflicted I went astray,
But now I keep Your word.
68 You are (C)good and You (D)do good;
(E)Teach me Your statutes.
69 The arrogant [b]have (F)forged a lie against me;
With all my heart I will (G)comply with Your precepts.
70 Their heart is (H)insensitive, like fat,
But I (I)delight in Your Law.
71 It is (J)good for me that I was afflicted,
So that I may learn Your statutes.
72 The (K)Law of Your mouth is better to me
Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
2 “(A)If there is found in your midst, in any of your [a]towns which the Lord your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, by violating His covenant, 3 and that person has gone and (B)served other gods and worshiped them, (C)or the sun, the moon, or any of the heavenly [b]lights, (D)which I have commanded not to do, 4 and if it is reported to you and you have heard about it, then you shall investigate thoroughly. And [c]if it is true and the report is trustworthy that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, 5 then you are to bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil deed, that is, the man or the woman, and (E)you shall stone them to [d]death. 6 (F)On the [e]testimony of two witnesses or three witnesses, the [f]condemned shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the [g]testimony of only one witness. 7 (G)The hands of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. (H)So you shall eliminate the evil from your midst.
8 “(I)If a case is too difficult for you to decide, between [h]one kind of homicide or another, between [i]one kind of lawsuit or another, and between [j]one kind of assault or another, that are cases of dispute in your [k]courts, then you shall arise and go up to (J)the place which the Lord your God chooses. 9 So you shall come to (K)the Levitical priests or the judge who is in office in those days, and you shall inquire of them and they will declare to you the [l]verdict. 10 Then you shall act in accordance with the [m]terms of the verdict which they declare to you from that place which the Lord chooses; and you shall be careful to act in accordance with everything that they instruct you to do. 11 (L)In accordance with the [n]terms of the law about which they instruct you, and in accordance with the verdict which they tell you, you shall act; you shall not turn aside from the word which they declare to you, to the right or the left. 12 But the person who acts (M)insolently by not listening to the priest who stands there to serve the Lord your God, nor to the judge, that person shall die; so you shall eliminate the evil from Israel. 13 Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and will not act (N)insolently again.
Be Subject to Government
13 Every [a](A)person is to be (B)subject to the governing authorities. For (C)there is no authority except [b]from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore [c]whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 3 For (D)rulers are not a cause of fear for [d]good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; 4 for it is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a servant of God, an (E)avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. 5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also (F)for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7 (G)Pay to all what is due them: (H)tax to whom tax is due; (I)custom to whom custom; [e]respect to whom [f]respect; honor to whom honor.
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