Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
David wrote this song.
How may we worship God?
15 Lord, who may stay with you,
in your own home?
Who may live there,
on your holy hill?[a]
2 It is the person who does only things that are right.
It is the person who lives in a completely good way,
and who speaks only what he knows is true.
3 He says nothing bad against other people.
He does nothing that will hurt his friends,
nor does he insult them.
4 He does not respect wicked people,
but he does respect people who serve the Lord.
When he promises to do something,
he always does it.
5 He lends his money to help other people,
and he does not ask for more money in return.
He does not accept a bribe,
to speak against people who have done nothing wrong.
People who live in this way will always be safe.
17 Remember to be completely fair to foreigners and to children who have no family. If you lend money to a widow, do not take her coat as a guarantee. 18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God rescued you from there. That is why I am commanding you to do these things.
19 At harvest time, you might forget to bring in all the crops from your fields. Do not go back to pick up all the grain. Leave it there for foreigners, widows and children who have no family. If you do that, the Lord your God will bless you in all your work.
20 When you knock the olives off your trees, shake each branch only once. Leave the olives that remain for foreigners, widows and children who have no family. 21 When you pick your grapes, pick only once from each vine. Leave the grapes that remain for foreigners, widows and children who have no family. 22 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I am commanding you to do all these things.
25 When there is an argument between two people, they must both go to the judges. Then the judges will decide which of the two people is right. They will decide the punishment for the guilty person. 2 The judge may decide that his officers should beat the guilty person as punishment. The judge will make him lie down on the ground. Then he will watch as his officers beat the guilty person. They will hit him as many times as he deserves because of his wicked act. 3 But they must not hit him more than 40 times as his punishment. If it is more than that, nobody would respect him any more.
4 Do not tie shut the mouth of your ox while it walks on your grain to prepare it for you.[a]
Leaders in the church
17 Everyone should respect leaders of the believers who lead the church well.[a] The church should also pay them properly for their work. That is certainly true for leaders who teach God's people and speak God's message to them. 18 The Bible says: ‘Do not tie shut the mouth of a bull while it walks on your wheat seeds.’[b] The Bible also says: ‘You must pay a worker what his work is worth.’
19 Somebody may tell you that a leader of the believers has done something wrong. But do not accept that as true, unless two or three people say the same thing. 20 If a leader is really guilty and continues to do wrong things, you must warn him. Do that when everyone in the church is there. They will hear what you say, and they will be afraid to do wrong things themselves.
21 I say this to you very strongly: Obey what I am telling you to do. Remember that God himself and Christ Jesus, together with their special angels, are all watching what you do. Do not quickly decide if someone has done right or wrong. Be fair and judge everyone in the same way. 22 Do not hurry to put your hands on anyone to choose him as a leader of the church. Perhaps that man has done something wrong. Then people might think that you agree with his sins. You yourself must always be careful to do what is right and good.
23 I know that you often become ill. So do not drink only water, but drink a little wine. This will help your stomach to keep well.
24 Some people do wrong things that everyone can see clearly. When someone judges those people, everyone already knows that they are guilty. So everybody already knows that it is right to punish those people. But for other people, nobody knows about their sins until later.
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.