Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

By David.

⁵ “Suppose a righteous person does what is fair and right. ⁶ He doesn’t eat at the illegal mountain worship sites or look for help from the idols of the nation of Israel. He doesn’t dishonor his neighbor’s wife or have sexual intercourse with a woman while she is having her period. ⁷ He doesn’t oppress anyone. He returns what a borrower gives him as security for a loan. He doesn’t rob anyone. He gives food to people who are hungry, and he gives clothes to those who are naked. ⁸ He doesn’t lend money for interest or make an excessive profit. He refuses to do evil things, and he judges everyone fairly. ⁹ He lives by my rules and obeys my laws faithfully. This person is righteous. He will certainly live,” declares the Almighty Lord.

¹⁰ “But suppose this person has a son who robs and murders. The son does all the things ¹¹ that his father never did. He eats at the illegal mountain worship sites. He dishonors his neighbor’s wife. ¹² He oppresses the poor and needy. He robs. He doesn’t return the security for a loan. He looks to idols for help. He does disgusting things. ¹³ He lends money for interest and makes excessive profits. Will this person live? He will not live. He has done all these disgusting things. So he must die, and he will be responsible for his own death.

¹⁴ “But suppose this person has a son. The son sees all the sins that his father does. He is afraid, so he doesn’t do such things.^{[a] 15} He doesn’t eat at the illegal mountain worship sites or look for help from the idols of the nation of Israel. He doesn’t dishonor his neighbor’s wife. ¹⁶ He doesn’t oppress anyone. He doesn’t keep the security for a loan. He doesn’t rob anyone. He gives food to people who are hungry, and he gives clothes to those who are naked. ¹⁷ He refuses to hurt the poor. He doesn’t charge interest or make excessive profits. He obeys my rules and lives by my laws. He won’t die for his father’s sins. He will certainly live. ¹⁸ But his father has oppressed others, robbed his relative, and done what is wrong among his people. So the father will die because of his sin.

³² We are telling you the Good News: What God promised our ancestors has happened. ³³ God has fulfilled the promise for us, their descendants, by bringing Jesus back to life. This is what Scripture says in the second psalm:

³⁴ “God stated that he brought Jesus back to life and that Jesus’ body never decayed. He said, ‘I will give you the enduring love promised to David.’ ³⁵ Another psalm says, ‘You will not allow your holy one to decay.’ ³⁶ After doing God’s will by serving the people of his time, David died. He was laid to rest with his ancestors, but his body decayed. ³⁷ However, the man God brought back to life had a body that didn’t decay.

³⁸ “So, brothers, I’m telling you that through Jesus your sins can be forgiven. Sins kept you from receiving God’s approval through Moses’ Teachings. ³⁹ However, everyone who believes in Jesus receives God’s approval.

⁴⁰ “Be careful, or what the prophets said may happen to you.