Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A psalm of David.
15 Lord, who can live in your sacred tent?
Who can stay on your holy mountain?
2 Anyone who lives without blame
and does what is right.
They speak the truth from their heart.
3 They don’t tell lies about other people.
They don’t do wrong to their neighbors.
They don’t say anything bad about them.
4 They hate evil people.
But they honor those who have respect for the Lord.
They keep their promises even when it hurts.
They do not change their mind.
5 They lend their money to poor people without charging interest.
They don’t accept money to harm those who aren’t guilty.
Anyone who lives like that
will always be secure.
15 Moses turned and went down the mountain. He had the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. Words were written on both sides of the tablets, front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of God. The words had been written by God. They had been carved on the tablets.
17 Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting. So he said to Moses, “It sounds like war in the camp.”
18 Moses replied,
“It’s not the sound of winning.
It’s not the sound of losing.
It’s the sound of singing that I hear.”
19 As Moses approached the camp, he saw the calf. He also saw the people dancing. So he was very angry. He threw the tablets out of his hands. They broke into pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20 He took the calf the people had made. He burned it in the fire. Then he ground it into powder. He scattered it on the water. And he made the Israelites drink it.
21 He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you? How did they make you lead them into such terrible sin?”
22 “Please don’t be angry,” Aaron answered. “You know how these people like to do what is evil. 23 They said to me, ‘Make us a god that will lead us. This fellow Moses brought us up out of Egypt. But we don’t know what has happened to him.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Anyone who has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ They gave me the gold. I threw it into the fire. And out came this calf!”
25 Moses saw that the people were running wild. Aaron had let them get out of control. The people had become a joke to their enemies. 26 Moses stood at the entrance to the camp. He said, “Anyone on the Lord’s side, come to me.” All the Levites joined him.
27 Then he spoke to them. He said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Each man must put on his sword. Then he must go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other. Each man must kill his brother and friend and neighbor.’ ” 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded. About 3,000 of the people died that day. 29 Then Moses said to the Levites, “You have been set apart for the Lord today. You fought against your own sons and brothers. And he has blessed you this day.”
30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a terrible sin. But now I will go up to the Lord. Maybe if I pray to him, he will forgive your sin.”
31 So Moses went back to the Lord. He said, “These people have committed a terrible sin. They have made a god out of gold for themselves. 32 Now please forgive their sin. But if you won’t, then erase my name out of the book you have written.”
33 The Lord replied to Moses. The Lord said, “I will erase out of my book only the names of those who have sinned against me. 34 Now go. Lead the people to the place I spoke about. My angel will go ahead of you. But when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”
35 The Lord struck the people with a plague. That’s because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.
9 Here’s what believers who are in low positions in life should be proud of. They should be proud that God has given them a high position in the kingdom. 10 But rich people should take pride in their low positions. That’s because they will fade away like wild flowers. 11 The sun rises. Its burning heat dries up the plants. Their blossoms fall. Their beauty is destroyed. In the same way, rich people will fade away. They fade away even as they go about their business.
12 Blessed is the person who keeps on going when times are hard. After they have come through hard times, this person will receive a crown. The crown is life itself. The Lord has promised it to those who love him.
13 When a person is tempted, they shouldn’t say, “God is tempting me.” God can’t be tempted by evil. And he doesn’t tempt anyone. 14 But each person is tempted by their own evil desires. These desires lead them on and drag them away. 15 When these desires are allowed to remain, they lead to sin. And when sin is allowed to remain and grow, it leads to death.
16 My dear brothers and sisters, don’t let anyone fool you.
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