Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
BOOK 1
The Righteous and the Wicked Contrasted.
1 Blessed is the person who (A)does not walk in the (B)counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the [a](C)path of sinners,
Nor (D)sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his (E)delight is (F)in the Law of the Lord,
And on His Law he meditates (G)day and (H)night.
3 He will be like (I)a tree planted by [b]streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season,
And its [c]leaf does not wither;
And [d]in whatever he does, (J)he prospers.
5 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Speak to the sons of Israel: ‘(A)When a man or woman commits any of the sins of mankind, acting unfaithfully against the Lord, and that person is guilty, 7 then [a]he shall (B)confess [b]his sin which [c]he has committed, and he (C)shall make restitution in full for his wrong and add to it a fifth of it, and give it to him whom he has wronged. 8 But if the person has no [d]redeemer to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution which is made for the wrong must go to the Lord for the priest, besides the ram of atonement, by which atonement is made for him. 9 (D)Also every [e]contribution pertaining to all the holy gifts of the sons of Israel, which they offer to the priest, shall be his. 10 So every person’s holy gifts shall be his; whatever anyone gives to the priest, it (E)becomes his.’”
Qualifications of Elders
5 For this reason I left you in (A)Crete, that you would set in order what remains and (B)appoint (C)elders in every city as I directed you, 6 namely, (D)if any man is beyond reproach, the (E)husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of (F)indecent behavior or (G)rebellion. 7 For the [a](H)overseer must be beyond reproach as (I)God’s steward, not (J)self-willed, not quick-tempered, not (K)overindulging in wine, not [b]a bully, (L)not greedy for money, 8 but (M)hospitable, (N)loving what is good, self-controlled, righteous, holy, disciplined, 9 (O)holding firmly the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to [c]exhort in (P)sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.
10 (Q)For there are many (R)rebellious people, (S)empty talkers and deceivers, especially (T)those of the circumcision, 11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting (U)whole families, teaching (V)things they should not teach (W)for the sake of [d]dishonest gain. 12 One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “(X)Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. For this reason (Y)reprimand them (Z)severely so that they may be (AA)sound in the faith, 14 not paying attention to Jewish (AB)myths and (AC)commandments of men who (AD)turn away from the truth. 15 (AE)To the pure, all things are pure; but (AF)to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their (AG)mind and their conscience are defiled. 16 (AH)They profess to know God, but by their deeds they (AI)deny Him, being (AJ)detestable and (AK)disobedient and (AL)worthless (AM)for any good deed.
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