Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 15[a]
A psalm of David.
15 Lord, who may be a guest in your home?[b]
Who may live on your holy hill?[c]
2 Whoever lives a blameless life,[d]
does what is right,
and speaks honestly.[e]
3 He[f] does not slander,[g]
or do harm to others,[h]
or insult his neighbor.[i]
4 He despises a reprobate,[j]
but honors the Lord’s loyal followers.[k]
He makes firm commitments and does not renege on his promise.[l]
5 He does not charge interest when he lends his money.[m]
He does not take bribes to testify against the innocent.[n]
The one who lives like this[o] will never be shaken.
15 Moses turned and went down from the mountain with[a] the two tablets of the testimony in his hands. The tablets were written on both sides—they were written on the front and on the back. 16 Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. 17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted,[b] he said to Moses, “It is the sound of war in the camp!” 18 Moses[c] said, “It is not the sound of those who shout for victory,[d] nor is it the sound of those who cry because they are overcome,[e] but the sound of singing[f] I hear.”[g]
19 When he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became extremely angry.[h] He threw the tablets from his hands and broke them to pieces at the bottom of the mountain.[i] 20 He took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire, ground it[j] to powder, poured it out on the water, and made the Israelites drink it.[k]
21 Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought on them so great a sin?” 22 Aaron said, “Do not let your anger burn hot, my lord;[l] you know these people, that they tend to evil.[m] 23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods that will go before us, for as for this fellow Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’ 24 So I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, break it off.’ So they gave it[n] to me, and I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out.”[o]
25 Moses saw that the people were running wild,[p] for Aaron had let them get completely out of control, causing derision from their enemies.[q] 26 So Moses stood at the entrance of the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come[r] to me.”[s] All the Levites gathered around him, 27 and he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has said ‘Each man fasten[t] his sword on his side, and go back and forth[u] from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and each one kill his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’”[v]
28 The Levites did what Moses ordered,[w] and that day about 3,000 men of the people died.[x] 29 Moses said, “You have been consecrated[y] today for the Lord, for each of you was against his son or against his brother, so he has given a blessing to you today.”[z]
30 The next day Moses said to the people,[aa] “You have committed a very serious sin,[ab] but now I will go up to the Lord—perhaps I can make atonement[ac] on behalf of your sin.”
31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has committed a very serious sin,[ad] and they have made for themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, if you will forgive their sin…,[ae] but if not, wipe me out[af] from your book that you have written.”[ag] 33 The Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me—that person I will wipe out of my book. 34 So now go, lead the people to the place I have spoken to you about. See,[ah] my angel will go before you. But on the day that I punish, I will indeed punish them for their sin.”[ai]
35 And the Lord sent a plague on the people because they had made the calf[aj]—the one Aaron made.[ak]
9 Now the believer[a] of humble means[b] should take pride[c] in his high position.[d] 10 But the rich person’s pride should be in his humiliation, because he will pass away like a wildflower in the meadow.[e] 11 For the sun rises with its heat and dries up the meadow; the petal of the flower falls off and its beauty is lost forever.[f] So also the rich person in the midst of his pursuits will wither away. 12 Happy is the one[g] who endures testing, because when he has proven to be genuine, he will receive the crown of life that God[h] promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil,[i] and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires. 15 Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death. 16 Do not be led astray, my dear brothers and sisters.[j]
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