Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The First Passover

12 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: ² “This month will be the beginning of months, the first month [^Cin terms of both the calendar and its importance] of the year for you. ³ Tell the whole ·community [congregation; assembly] of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man must get one lamb for [^Leach family, a lamb for] ·the people in his house [^Leach household]. ⁴ If there are not enough people in his house to eat a whole lamb, he must share it with his closest neighbor, considering the number of people. There must be enough lamb for everyone to eat. ⁵ The lamb must be a one-year-old male that has ·nothing wrong with it [no blemish]. This animal can be either a young sheep or a young goat. ⁶ Take care of the animals until the fourteenth day of the month. On that day all the ·people of the community [assembly of the congregation] of Israel will ·kill [slaughter] them ·in the evening before dark [at twilight]. ⁷ The people must take some of the blood and put it on the ·sides and tops of the doorframes [doorposts and lintels] of the houses where they eat the lambs. ⁸ On this night they must roast the lamb over a fire. They must eat it with bitter herbs and ·bread made without yeast [unleavened bread]. ⁹ Do not eat the lamb raw or boiled in water. Roast the whole lamb over a fire—with its head, legs, and inner organs. ¹⁰ You must not leave any of it until morning, but if any of it is left over until morning, you must burn it with fire.

¹¹ “This is the way you must eat it: ·You must be fully dressed as if you were going on a trip [^LWith your loins girded]. You must have your sandals on [^Lyour feet] and your walking stick in your hand. You must eat it in a hurry; this is the Lord’s Passover.

¹² “That night I will ·go [cross; pass] through the land of Egypt and ·kill [^Lstrike] all the firstborn animals and [^Lfirstborn] people in the land of Egypt. I will also ·punish [judge; have victory over] all the gods of Egypt [^Cthe spiritual forces (demons) who spiritually empower Egypt]. I am the Lord. ¹³ But the blood will be a sign on the houses where you are. When I see the blood, I will pass over you [^Cthe verb is related to the Hebrew word for Passover]. ·Nothing terrible will hurt [^LNo plague will destroy] you when I ·punish [^Lstrike] the land of Egypt.

¹⁴ “You are always to remember this day and celebrate it with a feast to the Lord. ·Your descendants are to honor the Lord with this feast from now on [^LYou are to observe it throughout your generations as a perpetual statute/ordinance/requirement].

Praise the God of Israel

Loving Others

⁸ Do not owe ·people [^Lanyone] anything, except always owe love to each other, because the person who loves others has ·obeyed all [fulfilled] the law. ⁹ [^LFor] The law says, “You must not be guilty of adultery. You must not murder anyone. You must not steal. You must not ·want to take your neighbor’s things [covet; Ex. 20:13–15, 17; Deut. 5:17–21].” All these commands and all others are really summed up in this one ·rule [command; word]: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself [Lev. 19:18].” ¹⁰ Love never ·hurts [does wrong/evil to] a neighbor, so loving is ·obeying all [fulfilling] the law.

¹¹ Do this ·because you know the times in which we live [^Lknowing the time/season]. It is ·now [or already the] ·time [hour] for you to wake up from your sleep, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night [^Ca metaphor for the present evil age] is ·almost finished [advancing], and the day [^Cthe time of final judgment and reward] is ·almost here [near; or at hand]. So we should ·stop doing [put aside; cast off] ·things that belong to [^Lthe deeds/works of] darkness and ·take up the weapons [or put on the armor] ·used for fighting in [or that belong to; ^Lof] the light. ¹³ Let us ·live [walk] ·in a right way [properly; decently], like people who belong to the day. We should not have wild parties or get drunk. There should be no ·sexual sins of any kind [^Lsexual immorality or debauchery/sensuality], no ·fighting [strife; quarrels] or jealousy. ¹⁴ But clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and ·forget about satisfying [or give no opportunity to the desires of; or don’t think about ways to gratify] ·your sinful self [the sinful nature; ^Tthe flesh].

When a Person Sins Against You^(A)

¹⁵ “If your ·fellow believer [^Lbrother (or sister)] sins against you,^[a] go and ·tell him what he did wrong [^Lreprove/convict/correct him] ·in private [^Lbetween you and him alone]. If he listens to you, you have ·helped that person to be your brother or sister again [^Lgained/won back your brother (or sister)]. ¹⁶ But if he refuses to listen, go to him again and take one or two other people with you. ‘Every ·case [matter; charge] may be proved by [the testimony of; ^Lthe mouth of] two or three witnesses’ [Deut. 19:15]. ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, then treat him like a ·person who does not believe in God [pagan; Gentile] or like a tax collector.

¹⁸ “I tell you the truth, ·the things [whatever] you ·don’t allow [forbid; ^Lbind] on earth will be ·the things God does not allow [forbidden/bound in heaven]. And ·the things [whatever] you ·allow [permit; ^Lloose] on earth will be ·the things that God allows [permitted/^Lloosed in heaven].”

¹⁹ “·Also [Again], I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about something ·and pray for it [^Lfor which you have asked], it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ ·This is true because if [^LFor where] two or three people ·come [are assembled/gathered] together in my name, I am there ·with them [among them; in their midst].”