Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Command to Love God

6 These are the commands, ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements], and laws that the Lord your God told me to teach you to obey in the land you are crossing the Jordan River to ·take [possess]. ² You, your children, and your grandchildren must ·respect [fear] the Lord your God ·as long as you live [^Lall the days of your life]. Obey all his ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and commands I give you so that ·you will live a long time [^Lyour days will be long]. ³ Listen, Israel, and carefully obey these laws. Then all will go well for you, and you will become a great nation in a ·fertile land [^Lland flowing with milk and honey; Ex. 3:8], just as the Lord, the God of your ·ancestors [fathers], has promised you [Gen. 12:1–3; 15:17–20].

⁴ ·Listen, people of [^THear, O] Israel! The Lord our God is the ·only [or one] Lord. ⁵ Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. ⁶ Always ·remember [^Lkeep in your heart] these commands I give you today. ⁷ ·Teach [Recite; Repeat] them to your children, and talk about them when you sit at home and walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ ·Write them down and tie [^LBind] them to your hands as a sign. Tie them ·on your forehead [^Lbetween your eyes] ·to remind you [as an emblem/headband/frontlet], ⁹ and write them on ·your doors [^Lthe lintels/doorposts of your house] and gates.

²⁰ In the future when your children ask you, “What is the meaning of the laws, ·commands [statutes; ordinances; requirements], and rules the Lord our God gave us?” ²¹ tell them, “We were slaves to the king of Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt ·by his great power [^Lwith a strong hand]. ²² The Lord showed us great and terrible signs and miracles, which he did to Egypt, the king, and his whole ·family [^Lhouse]. ²³ The Lord brought us out of Egypt to lead us here and to give us the land he promised our ·ancestors [fathers; Gen. 12:1–3; 15:17–20]. ²⁴ The Lord ordered us to obey all these ·commands [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and to ·respect [fear] the Lord our God so that we will always do well and stay alive, as we are today. ²⁵ The right thing for us to do is this: Obey all these rules in the presence of the Lord our God, as he has commanded.”

⁸ This royal law [^Cbecause God the king decreed it, or because it is the supreme law] is found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself [Lev. 19:18; Matt. 22:37–40].” ·If you [or If you really; or If you, however,] ·obey [fulfill; carry out] this law, you are doing ·right [well]. ⁹ But if you ·treat one person as being more important than another [show favoritism/partiality; 2:1], you are sinning. You are ·guilty of breaking God’s law [^Lconvicted by the law as lawbreakers/ transgressors]. ¹⁰ [^LFor] A person who ·follows [keeps; obeys] all of God’s law but ·fails to obey even one command [^Lstumbles/falls in one point] is guilty of breaking all the commands in that law. ¹¹ [^LFor] The same God who said, “You must not ·be guilty of [commit] adultery [Ex. 20:14; Deut. 5:18],” also said, “You must not murder anyone [Ex. 20:13; Deut. 5:17].” So if you do not ·take part in [commit] adultery but you murder someone, ·you are guilty of breaking all of God’s law [^Lyou have become a breaker/transgressor of the law; Matt. 5:18–19; Gal. 5:3]. ¹² ·In everything you say and do, remember that you [^LSo speak and so act as those who] will be judged by the law ·that makes people free [^Lof freedom/liberty]. ¹³ ·So you must show mercy to others, or God will not show mercy to you when he judges you [^LFor judgment is without mercy to the one who does not act mercifully]. ·But the person who shows mercy can stand without fear at the judgment [^LBut mercy triumphs over judgment].