Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Honest People Are Blessed
112 Praise the Lord!
Happy is the person who fears the Lord.
He loves what the Lord commands.
2 His descendants will be powerful in the land.
The children of honest people will be blessed.
3 His house will be full of wealth and riches.
His goodness will continue forever.
4 A light shines in the dark for honest people.
It shines for those who are good and kind and merciful.
5 It is good to be kind and generous.
Whoever is fair in his business
6 will never be defeated.
A good person will be remembered from now on.
7 He won’t be afraid of bad news.
He is safe because he trusts the Lord.
8 That person is confident. He will not be afraid.
He will look down on his enemies.
9 He gives freely to the poor.
The things he does are right and will continue forever.
He will be given great honor.
10 The wicked will see this and become angry.
They will grind their teeth in anger and then disappear.
The wishes of the wicked will come to nothing.
Marriage Laws
13 A man might marry a girl and have intimate relations with her. But he might decide that he does not like her. 14 So he might lie about her and give her a bad name. He might say, “I married this woman. But when I had intimate relations with her, I did not find that she was a virgin.” 15 Then the girl’s parents must bring proof that she was a virgin. They must bring it to the elders at the city gate. 16 The girl’s father will say to the leaders, “I gave my daughter to this man to be his wife. But now he does not want her. 17 This man has told lies about my daughter. He has said, ‘I did not find your daughter to be a virgin.’ But here is the proof that my daughter was a virgin.” Then her parents are to show the sheet to the city leaders. 18 Then the leaders must take the man and punish him. 19 They must make him pay about two and a half pounds of silver. The silver will go to the girl’s father. This is because the man has given an Israelite girl a bad name. The girl must continue to be the man’s wife. And he may not divorce her as long as he lives.
20 But the things the husband said about his wife might be true. And there might be no proof that she was a virgin. 21 If so, the girl must be brought to the door of her father’s house. Then the men of the town must put her to death by throwing stones at her. She has done a disgraceful thing in Israel. She had physical relations before she was married. You must get rid of the evil among you.
22 A man might be found committing adultery with another man’s wife. Both the woman and the man who committed adultery with her must die. Get rid of this evil from Israel.
23 A man might meet a virgin in a city and have physical relations with her. But she might be engaged to another man. 24 You must take both of them to the city gate. Put them both to death by throwing stones at them. Kill the girl because she was in a city and did not scream for help. And kill the man for having physical relations with another man’s wife. You must get rid of the evil among you.
25 But a man might meet a girl out in the country. He might force her to have physical relations with him. But she might be engaged to another man. Only the man who forced her to have physical relations with her must be put to death. 26 Don’t do anything to the girl. She has not done a sin worthy of death. This is like the person who attacks and murders his neighbor. 27 The man found the engaged girl in the country. And she screamed. But no one was there to save her.
28 A man might meet a virgin who is not engaged to be married. He might force her to have physical relations with him. And people might find out about it. 29 The man must pay the girl’s father about one and one-fourth pounds of silver. He must also marry the girl because he has dishonored her. And he may never divorce her for as long as he lives.
30 A man must not marry his father’s wife. He must not dishonor his father in this way.
About Marriage
7 Now I will discuss the things you wrote to me about. It is good for a man not to marry. 2 But sexual immorality is a danger. So each man should have his own wife. And each woman should have her own husband. 3 The husband should give his wife all that she should have as his wife. And the wife should give her husband all that he should have as her husband. 4 The wife does not have power over her own body. Her husband has the power over her body. And the husband does not have power over his own body. His wife has the power over his body. 5 Do not refuse to give your bodies to each other. But you might both agree to stay away from intimate relations for a time. You might do this so that you can give your time to prayer. Then come together again. This is so that Satan cannot tempt you in your weakness. 6 I say this to give you permission. It is not a command. 7 I wish everyone were like me. But each person has his own gift from God. One has one gift, another has another gift.
8 Now for those who are not married and for the widows I say this: It is good for them to stay single as I am. 9 But if they cannot control their bodies, then they should marry. It is better to marry than to burn with lust.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.