Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 119

The Great Psalm on the Law of the Lord^[a]

Aleph: Blessed Are the Blameless

Laws About Property

22 If a man steals an ox or a sheep and butchers it or sells it, he shall pay five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.^[a]

² If a thief is caught breaking in and is struck so that he dies, the one who kills him shall not be guilty of bloodshed. ³ But if this takes place after sunrise, the one who kills him shall be guilty of bloodshed.

A thief shall make restitution. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. ⁴ If the stolen animal found in his possession is alive, whether it is an ox, donkey, or sheep, he shall repay double.

⁵ If a man is grazing livestock in a field or a vineyard, and he lets his animals run loose and they graze in another man’s field, ⎣he shall make restitution from his own field on the basis of the produce that was eaten,^[b] but if they have grazed over the whole field,⎦ he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and from the best of his own vineyard.^[c]

⁶ If a fire gets out of control and spreads through the thorn bushes so that someone else’s shocks of grain, standing grain, or grain field are consumed, the one who lit the fire must certainly make restitution.

⁷ If a man entrusts money or other items to his neighbor for safekeeping, and they are stolen out of that man’s house, if the thief is found, he shall repay double. ⁸ If the thief is not found, then the owner of the house shall appear before the judges^[d] to find out whether he has laid his hands on his neighbor’s goods. ⁹ In every such offense, whether it involves an ox, a donkey, a sheep, clothing, or any other kind of lost property about which someone claims, “This is mine,” the claims of both parties shall be presented before the judges. Whichever party the judges find guilty shall repay double to his neighbor.

¹⁰ If a man entrusts a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to his neighbor for safekeeping, and it dies or is injured or is driven off, and no one sees what happened, ¹¹ to settle the matter between them, the man who received the property must make an oath to the Lord that he has not laid his hands on his neighbor’s goods. Its owner must accept the oath, and the man who received the property shall not be required to make restitution. ¹² But if, in fact, it was stolen while in his custody, he shall make restitution to its owner. ¹³ If it was torn in pieces by animals, let him bring it for evidence. He is not required to make good that which was torn.

¹⁴ If a man borrows anything from his neighbor, and it is injured or dies while its owner is not with it, the borrower must certainly make restitution. ¹⁵ If its owner is with it, the borrower will not be required to make restitution. If it was rented, the rent covers the loss.

The Earthly Tent

9 The first covenant had regulations for worship and for an earthly sanctuary. ² The first room of the tent was furnished with the lampstand, the table, and the Bread of the Presence.^[a] This room was called the Holy Place. ³ And behind the second curtain was the room of the tent called the Most Holy Place. ⁴ It had the golden censer for incense^[b] and the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered entirely with gold. Inside the Ark was the golden jar holding the manna, Aaron’s staff that had sprouted buds, and the stone tablets of the covenant. ⁵ Above the Ark, the glorious cherubim overshadowed the atonement seat. We are not going to talk about these things in detail now.

⁶ After these things had been furnished in this way, the priests would always enter the first room of the tent to perform their ministries. ⁷ But only the high priest would enter the second section of the tent, once each year, and not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people committed in ignorance. ⁸ By this the Holy Spirit indicates that, while the first room of the tent existed, a way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed.

⁹ This tent is a picture pointing to the present time. Since it is only a picture, the gifts and sacrifices that are brought there are not able to clear the conscience of the worshipper. ¹⁰ They are only bodily regulations about foods, drinks, and various washings, which were in force until the time of the new order.

Jesus’ Blood

¹¹ But when Christ appeared as the high priest of the good things that were coming,^[c] he went through the greater and more complete tent, which was not made by human hands (that is, it is not part of this creation). ¹² He entered once into the Most Holy Place and obtained eternal redemption, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood.