Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Prosperity of One Who Fears the Lord.
112 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
(A)Blessed is a person who [c]fears the Lord,
Who greatly (B)delights in His commandments.
2 His [d](C)descendants will be mighty [e]on the earth;
The generation of the (D)upright will be blessed.
3 (E)Wealth and riches are in his house,
And his righteousness endures forever.
4 Light shines in the darkness (F)for the upright;
He is (G)gracious, compassionate, and righteous.
5 It goes well for a person who (H)is gracious and lends;
He will [f]maintain his cause in judgment.
6 For he will (I)never be shaken;
The (J)righteous will be [g]remembered forever.
Faithless Israel
6 Then the Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah, “Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She (A)went up on every high hill and under every leafy tree, and she prostituted herself there. 7 Yet (B)I [a]thought, ‘After she has done all these things she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her (C)treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8 And I saw that for all the [b]adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and (D)given her a certificate of divorce, yet her (E)treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and prostituted herself also. 9 And because of the thoughtlessness of her prostitution, she (F)defiled the land and committed [c]adultery with (G)stones and trees. 10 Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in (H)deception,” declares the Lord.
God Invites Repentance
11 And the Lord said to me, “(I)Faithless Israel has proved herself to be more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say,
‘(J)Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord;
‘(K)I will not [d]look at you in anger.
For I am (L)gracious,’ declares the Lord;
‘I will not be angry forever.
13 Only [e](M)acknowledge your wrongdoing,
That you have revolted against the Lord your God,
And have (N)scattered your [f]favors to the strangers (O)under every leafy tree,
And you have not obeyed My voice,’ declares the Lord.
14 ‘Return, you faithless sons,’ declares the Lord;
‘For I am a (P)master to you,
And I will take you, one from a city and two from a family,
And (Q)bring you to Zion.’
27 “(A)You have heard that it was said, ‘(B)You shall not commit adultery’; 28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman (C)with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 Now (D)if your right eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, [a]than for your whole body to be thrown into [b](E)hell. 30 And (F)if your right hand is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; for it is better for you [c]to lose one of the parts of your body, [d]than for your whole body to go into [e](G)hell.
31 “Now it was said, ‘(H)Whoever sends his wife away is to give her a certificate of divorce’; 32 (I)but I say to you that everyone who [f]divorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a [g]divorced woman commits adultery.
33 “Again, (J)you have heard that [h]the ancients were told, ‘[i](K)You shall not [j]make false vows, but shall fulfill your [k]vows to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, (L)take no oath at all, neither by heaven, for it is (M)the throne of God, 35 nor by the earth, for it is the (N)footstool of His feet, nor [l]by Jerusalem, for it is (O)the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you take an oath by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black.
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