Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

MEM

The people pray to God

9 On the 24th day of the same month, the Israelite people met together. They did not eat or drink. They wore sackcloth and they put dust on their heads.^[a]

² The Israelite people made themselves separate from foreign people. They stood up and they told God that they were sorry for their sins. They agreed that their ancestors had also done many bad things. ³ While the Israelites stood there, they read from the book of God's Law during a quarter of the day. During another quarter of the day they told the Lord their God about their sins and they worshipped him. ⁴ The Levites stood on some high steps. They called out in a loud voice to the Lord their God. Those Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani and Kenani. ⁵ Then the Levites (Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah) said, ‘Stand up and praise the Lord your God. He lives always and for ever.’

They said, ‘Your name is great and wonderful.^[b] We praise you more than words could ever say. ⁶ Only you are the Lord. You made the sky and the heavens above the sky. You made all the stars, the earth and everything on it. You made the seas and everything in them. You give life to everything. The great crowd of angels in heaven bend down low to worship you.

⁷ You are the Lord God who chose Abram. You brought him out of Ur, in Babylonia. You changed his name to be Abraham. ⁸ You knew that Abraham trusted you, so you made a covenant with him. You promised to give the land of Canaan to his descendants. That was the country where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites and Girgashites lived. You have done what you promised to do, because you are righteous.

⁹ You saw that our ancestors had trouble and pain in Egypt. You heard them cry to you for help at the Red Sea. ¹⁰ You did great miracles to show your power against Pharaoh, his officers and all his people.^[c] You knew that they were being cruel to your people. You showed everyone that you are a great God. And people still know that it is true. ¹¹ You divided the sea into two parts so that your people could cross it on a dry path. When Pharaoh's soldiers chased after them, you threw them into the sea. They drowned in the water, like a heavy stone. ¹² During the day, you led your people with a pillar of cloud. At night, you led them with a pillar of fire to give them light. You showed them the way that they should travel.

¹³ At Sinai mountain, you came down from heaven and you spoke to your people. You gave them your laws, rules and commands, which are good, fair and true. ¹⁴ You told them about the Sabbath and how to make it a special day. You gave all your laws to Moses so that he would teach them to your people. ¹⁵ You gave your people bread from heaven when they were hungry. You gave them water from a rock to drink when they were thirsty. You commanded them to go to the land that you had promised to give them. You told them to take it for themselves.

Wives and husbands

²¹ Serve one another to show that you respect Christ as your master.

²² Wives, obey your own husbands, as you obey the Lord. ²³ A husband has authority over his wife, in the same way that Christ has authority over the church. The church is like Christ's body. As its head, he saves her. ²⁴ As the church serves Christ as its master, so wives should serve their husbands in everything.

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church. He even agreed to die on its behalf. ²⁶ He did that to make us completely clean, as the people of God. It was like he washed us with water, as he brought God's message to us. ²⁷ Christ himself did this to bring us to himself as a beautiful group of his people. His church would belong to him completely. It would be pure, without anything bad to spoil it.

²⁸ So husbands should love their wives, just as they love their own bodies. A man who loves his wife shows that he loves himself. ²⁹ There is nobody who hates his own body. Everyone feeds his body and he takes care of it. In the same way, the church is like Christ's body that he takes care of. ³⁰ We are like the parts of Christ's body. ³¹ The Bible says this: ‘When a man marries, he leaves his father and his mother. Instead, God joins the man and his wife together. The two people become like one body.’^{[a] 32} This is God's secret and it is difficult to understand. But I am saying that it teaches us about Christ and the church. ³³ But each one of you husbands should understand this: love your own wife as you love yourself. And every wife among you must respect her husband.

Children and parents

6 You who are children, obey your parents. Because you belong to the Lord, that is the right thing to do. ² God's Law says: ‘Always respect your father and your mother.’ That is the first rule of God's Law that also has a promise. ³ The promise is this: ‘As a result, you will be happy and you will live for a long time on the earth.’^[b]

⁴ Fathers, do not do things that make your children angry. Instead, teach them carefully as they grow up. Help them to understand the message of the Lord, and help them to obey it.

Slaves and masters

⁵ You who are slaves, obey your human masters. Respect them and be afraid of them. Work well to help them, as if you were working for Christ as your master. ⁶ Do not do good work only when they can see you. Some people only work to make other people like them. Instead, work well all the time, as slaves who serve Christ. Work in the way that God wants you to work. ⁷ Be happy to obey your human masters. Remember that you are serving the Lord himself, not just other people. ⁸ You know that anyone who does some good thing will receive a good gift from the Lord. This will happen whether that person is a slave or a free person.

⁹ You who are masters, be good to your slaves in the same way. Do not frighten them with punishment. Remember that both you and your slaves have the same Master in heaven. And he is always fair when he judges people, whoever they are.