Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 119^[a]

22 ^[a]The Lord continued, “Whenever someone steals a bull or a sheep and butchers it or sells it, he must make up for the loss with five head of cattle to replace the bull or four sheep to replace the sheep.

² “If anyone catches a thief breaking in and hits him so that he dies, he is not guilty of murder. ³ But if it happens after sunrise, he is guilty of murder.

“A thief must make up for what he has stolen. If he is unable to do so, he must be sold as a slave to pay for what he stole. ⁴ But if the stolen animal is found alive in his possession, whether it’s a bull, donkey, or a sheep, he must make up for the loss with double the amount.

⁵ “Whenever someone lets his livestock graze in a field or a vineyard, and they stray and graze in another person’s field, he must make up for what the damaged field was expected to produce. But if he lets them ruin the whole field with their grazing,^[b] he must make up from his own field for the loss with the best from his field and vineyard.

⁶ “Whenever a fire starts and spreads into the underbrush so that it burns up stacked or standing grain or ruins a field, the person who started the fire must make up for the loss.

⁷ “This is what you must do whenever someone gives his neighbor silver or other valuables to keep for him, and they are stolen from that person’s house: If the thief is caught, he must make up for the loss with double the amount. ⁸ If the thief is not caught, the owner of the house must be brought to Elohim to find out whether or not he took his neighbor’s valuables. ⁹ If there is a dispute over the ownership of a bull, a donkey, a sheep, an article of clothing, or any other lost property which two people claim as their own, both people must bring their case to Elohim. The one whom Elohim declares guilty must make up for his neighbor’s loss with double the amount.

¹⁰ “This is what you must do whenever someone gives his neighbor a donkey, a bull, a sheep, or any other kind of animal to keep for him, and it dies, is injured, or is captured in war, and there are no witnesses. ¹¹ The case between them must be settled by swearing an oath to Yahweh that the neighbor did not take the other person’s animal. The owner must accept the oath. The neighbor doesn’t have to make up for the loss. ¹² But if the animal was stolen from the neighbor, he must make up for the owner’s loss. ¹³ If it was killed by a wild animal, he must bring in the dead body as evidence. He doesn’t have to make up for an animal that has been killed.

¹⁴ “Whenever someone borrows an animal from his neighbor, and it is injured or dies while the owner is not present, the borrower must make up for the loss. ¹⁵ If the owner is with the animal, the borrower doesn’t have to make up for the loss. If it is rented, the rental fee covers the loss.

Christ Offered a Superior Sacrifice

9 The first promise had rules for the priests’ service. It also had a holy place on earth. ² A tent was set up. The first part of this tent was called the holy place. The lamp stand, the table, and the bread of the presence were in this part of the tent. ³ Behind the second curtain was the part of the tent called the most holy place. ⁴ It contained the gold incense burner and the ark of the Lord’s promise. The ark was completely covered with gold. In the ark were the gold jar filled with manna, Aaron’s staff that had blossomed, and the tablets on which the promise^[a] was written. ⁵ Above the ark were the angels^[b] of glory with their wings overshadowing the throne of mercy. (Discussing these things in detail isn’t possible now.)

⁶ That is how these two parts of the tent were set up. The priests always went into the first part of the tent to perform their duties. ⁷ But only the chief priest went into the second part of the tent. Once a year he entered and brought blood that he offered for himself and for the things that the people did wrong unintentionally. ⁸ The Holy Spirit used this to show that the way into the most holy place was not open while the tent was still in use.

⁹ The first part of the tent is an example for the present time. The gifts and sacrifices that were brought there could not give the worshiper a clear conscience. ¹⁰ These gifts and sacrifices were meant to be food, drink, and items used in various purification ceremonies. These ceremonies were required for the body until God would establish a new way of doing things.

¹¹ But Christ came as a chief priest of the good things that are now here. Christ went through a better, more perfect tent that was not made by human hands and that is not part of this created world. ¹² He used his own blood, not the blood of goats and bulls, for the sacrifice. He went into the most holy place and offered this sacrifice once and for all to free us forever.