Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A psalm. A song for the Sabbath day.
92 Lord, it is good to praise you.
Most High God, it is good to make music to honor you.
2 It is good to sing every morning about your love.
It is good to sing every night about how faithful you are.
3 I sing about it to the music of the lyre that has ten strings.
I sing about it to the music of the harp.
4 Lord, you make me glad by your deeds.
I sing for joy about what you have done.
5 Lord, how great are the things you do!
How wise your thoughts are!
6 Here is something that people without sense don’t know.
Here is what foolish people don’t understand.
7 Those who are evil spring up like grass.
Those who do wrong succeed.
But they will be destroyed forever.
8 But Lord, you are honored forever.
9 Lord, your enemies will certainly die.
All those who do evil will be scattered.
10 You have made me as strong as a wild ox.
You have poured the finest olive oil on me.
11 I’ve seen my evil enemies destroyed.
I’ve heard that they have lost the battle.
12 Those who do what is right will grow like a palm tree.
They will grow strong like a cedar tree in Lebanon.
13 Their roots will be firm in the house of the Lord.
They will grow strong and healthy in the courtyards of our God.
14 When they get old, they will still bear fruit.
Like young trees they will stay fresh and strong.
15 They will say to everyone, “The Lord is honest.
He is my Rock, and there is no evil in him.”
3 “ ‘Follow my rules. Be careful to obey my commands. 4 Then I will send you rain at the right time. The ground will produce its crops. The trees will bear their fruit. 5 You will continue to harvest your grain until you gather your grapes. You will continue to gather your grapes until you plant your crops. You will have all you want to eat. And you will live in safety in your land.
6 “ ‘I will give you peace in the land. You will be able to sleep because no one will make you afraid. I will remove wild animals from the land. There will not be any war in your country. 7 You will hunt down your enemies. You will kill them with your swords. 8 Five of you will chase 100. And 100 of you will chase 10,000. You will kill your enemies with your swords.
9 “ ‘I will bless you. I will give you many children so that there will be many of you. And I will be faithful to the covenant I made with you. 10 You will still be eating last year’s crops when you will have to make room for new crops. 11 I will live among you. I will not turn away from you. 12 I will walk among you. I will be your God. And you will be my people. 13 I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of Egypt. I did not want you to be slaves in Egypt anymore. I threw off your heavy load. I helped you walk with your heads held high.
Punishment for Not Obeying the Lord
14 “ ‘On the other hand, suppose you do not listen to me. Suppose you do not carry out all my commands. 15 Suppose you say no to my rules and turn away from my laws. And suppose you break my covenant by failing to carry out all my commands. 16 Then here is what I will do to you. All at once I will bring terror on you. I will send sicknesses that will make you weak. I will send fever that will destroy your sight. It will slowly take your strength away. When you plant seeds, it will not do you any good. Instead, your enemies will eat what you have planted. 17 I will turn against you. Then your enemies will win the battle over you. Those who hate you will rule over you. You will run away even when no one is chasing you.
18 “ ‘After all that, suppose you still will not listen to me. Then I will punish you for your sins seven times. 19 I will break down your stubborn pride. I will make the sky above you like iron, and it will not rain. I will make the ground under you like bronze, and you will not be able to farm it. 20 You will work with all your strength, but it will not do you any good. That is because your soil will not produce any crops. The trees of your land will not bear any fruit.
Living in a Way That Pleases God
4 Now I want to talk about some other matters, brothers and sisters. We taught you how to live in a way that pleases God. In fact, that is how you are living. In the name of the Lord Jesus we ask and beg you to do it more and more. 2 You know the directions we gave you. They were given by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
3 God wants you to be made holy. He wants you to stay away from sexual sins. 4 He wants all of you to learn to control your own bodies. You must live in a way that is holy. You must live with honor. 5 Don’t desire to commit sexual sins like people who don’t know God. 6 None of you should sin against your brother or sister by doing that. You should not take advantage of your brother or sister. The Lord will punish everyone who commits these kinds of sins. We have already told you and warned you about this. 7 That’s because God chose us to live pure lives. He wants us to be holy. 8 Suppose someone refuses to accept our teaching. They are not turning their back on us. They are turning their back on God. This same God gives you his Holy Spirit.
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