Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Futility of Idols and the Trustworthiness of God
115 Not (A)unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your mercy,
Because of Your truth.
2 Why should the [a]Gentiles say,
(B)“So where is their God?”
3 (C)But our God is in heaven;
He does whatever He pleases.
4 (D)Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
5 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
6 They have ears, but they do not hear;
Noses they have, but they do not smell;
7 They have hands, but they do not handle;
Feet they have, but they do not walk;
Nor do they mutter through their throat.
8 (E)Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.
9 (F)O Israel, trust in the Lord;
(G)He is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord [b]has been mindful of us;
He will bless us;
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
13 (H)He will bless those who fear the Lord,
Both small and great.
14 May the Lord give you increase more and more,
You and your children.
15 May you be (I)blessed by the Lord,
(J)Who made heaven and earth.
16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s;
But the earth He has given to the children of men.
17 (K)The dead do not praise the Lord,
Nor any who go down into silence.
18 (L)But we will bless the Lord
From this time forth and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!
Cleansing and Dedication of the Levites
5 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 6 “Take the Levites from among the children of Israel and cleanse them ceremonially. 7 Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: Sprinkle (A)water of purification on them, and (B)let[a] them shave all their body, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean. 8 Then let them take a young bull with (C)its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another young bull as a sin offering. 9 (D)And you shall bring the Levites before the tabernacle of meeting, (E)and you shall gather together the whole congregation of the children of Israel. 10 So you shall bring the Levites before the Lord, and the children of Israel (F)shall lay their hands on the Levites; 11 and Aaron shall [b]offer the Levites before the Lord like a (G)wave offering from the children of Israel, that they may perform the work of the Lord. 12 (H)Then the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls, and you shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites.
13 “And you shall stand the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and then offer them like a wave offering to the Lord. 14 Thus you shall (I)separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be (J)Mine. 15 After that the Levites shall go in to service the tabernacle of meeting. So you shall cleanse them and (K)offer them like a wave offering. 16 For they are (L)wholly given to Me from among the children of Israel; I have taken them for Myself (M)instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the children of Israel. 17 (N)For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are Mine, both man and beast; on the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I [c]sanctified them to Myself. 18 I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the children of Israel. 19 And (O)I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the work for the children of Israel in the tabernacle of meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Israel, (P)that there be no plague among the children of Israel when the children of Israel come near the sanctuary.”
20 Thus Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel did to the Levites; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the children of Israel did to them. 21 (Q)And the Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes; then Aaron presented them like a wave offering before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. 22 (R)After that the Levites went in to do their work in the tabernacle of meeting before Aaron and his sons; (S)as the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.
Greeting
1 Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and (A)the acknowledgment of the truth (B)which accords with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life which God, who (C)cannot lie, promised before time began, 3 but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior;
4 To (D)Titus, a true son in our common faith:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and [a]the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.
Qualified Elders
5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should (E)set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you— 6 if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, (F)having faithful children not accused of [b]dissipation or insubordination. 7 For a [c]bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, (G)not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, 8 but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, 9 holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.