Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
(A psalm by David.)
Who May Worship the Lord?
1 Who may stay in God's temple
or live on the holy mountain
of the Lord?
2 Only those who obey God
and do as they should.
They speak the truth
3 and don't spread gossip;
they treat others fairly
and don't say cruel things.
4 They hate worthless people,
but show respect for all
who worship the Lord.
And they keep their promises,
no matter what the cost.
5 They lend their money
without charging interest,
and they don't take bribes
to hurt the innocent.
Those who do these things
will always stand firm.
Abram in Egypt
10-11 The crops failed, and there was no food anywhere in Canaan. So Abram and his wife Sarai went to live in Egypt for a while. But just before they got there, Abram said, “Sarai, you are really beautiful! 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will murder me because I am your husband. But they won't kill you. 13 (A) Please save my life by saying you are my sister.”
14 As soon as Abram and Sarai arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians noticed how beautiful she was. 15 The king's[a] officials told him about her, and she was taken to his house. 16 The king was good to Abram because of Sarai, and Abram was given sheep, cattle, donkeys, slaves, and camels.
17 Because of Sarai, the Lord struck the king and everyone in his palace with terrible diseases. 18 Finally, the king sent for Abram and said to him, “What have you done to me? Why didn't you tell me Sarai was your wife? 19 Why did you make me believe she was your sister? Now I've married her. Take her and go! She's your wife.”
20 So the king told his men to let Abram and Sarai take their possessions and leave.
5 Every high priest is appointed to help others by offering gifts and sacrifices to God because of their sins. 2 A high priest has weaknesses of his own, and he feels sorry for foolish and sinful people. 3 (A) This is why he must offer sacrifices for his own sins and for the sins of others. 4 (B) But no one can have the honor of being a high priest simply by wanting to be one. Only God can choose a priest, and God is the one who chose Aaron.
5 (C) This is how it was with Christ. He became a high priest, but not just because he wanted the honor of being one. It was God who told him,
“You are my Son, because today
I have become your Father!”
6 (D) In another place, God says,
“You are a priest forever
just like Melchizedek.”[a]
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.