Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

BOOK ONE

(Psalms 1–41)

Confessing and Paying for Sins

⁵ The Lord said to Moses, ⁶ “Tell the Israelites: If you do something wrong to another person, you have been unfaithful to the Lord. When you realize your guilt, ⁷ you must confess your sin, pay in full for what you did wrong, add one-fifth to it, and give it to the person who was wronged. ⁸ But there may be no heir to whom the payment can be made. In that case, the payment for what you did wrong must be given to the Lord for the priest ⌞to use⌟. This payment is in addition to the ram which makes peace with the Lord.

⁹ “Any contribution over and above the holy offerings that the Israelites bring to the priest will belong to the priest. ¹⁰ Each person’s holy offerings will belong to that person, but whatever is given to the priest will belong to the priest.”

Guidelines for Leaders in the Church

⁵ I left you in Crete to do what still needed to be done—appointing spiritual leaders ^[a] in every city as I directed you. ⁶ A spiritual leader must have a good reputation. He must have only one wife and have children who are believers. His children shouldn’t be known for having wild lifestyles or being rebellious. ⁷ Because a bishop is a supervisor appointed by God, he must have a good reputation. He must not be a stubborn or irritable person. He must not drink too much or be a violent person. He must not use shameful ways to make money. ⁸ Instead, he must be hospitable, love what is good, use good judgment, be fair and moral, and have self-control. ⁹ He must be devoted to the trustworthy message we teach. Then he can use these accurate teachings to encourage people and correct those who oppose the word.

Correct Whoever Teaches What Is Wrong

¹⁰ There are many believers, especially converts from Judaism, who are rebellious. They speak nonsense and deceive people. ¹¹ They must be silenced because they are ruining whole families by teaching what they shouldn’t teach. This is the shameful way they make money.

¹² Even one of their own prophets said, “Cretans are always liars, savage animals, and lazy gluttons.” ¹³ That statement is true. For this reason, sharply correct believers so that they continue to have faith that is alive and well. ¹⁴ They shouldn’t pay attention to Jewish myths or commands given by people who are always rejecting the truth. ¹⁵ Everything is clean ^[b] to those who are clean. But nothing is clean to corrupt unbelievers. Indeed, their minds and their consciences are corrupted. ¹⁶ They claim to know God, but they deny him by what they do. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit to do anything good.