Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
For the choir director; a psalm by David.
19 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky displays what his hands have made.
2 One day tells a story to the next.
One night shares knowledge with the next
3 without talking,
without words,
without their voices being heard.
4 ⌞Yet,⌟ their sound has gone out into the entire world,
their message to the ends of the earth.
He has set up a tent in the heavens for the sun,
5 which comes out of its chamber like a bridegroom.
Like a champion, it is eager to run its course.
6 It rises from one end of the heavens.
It circles around to the other.
Nothing is hidden from its heat.
7 The teachings of the Lord are perfect.
They renew the soul.
The testimony of the Lord is dependable.
It makes gullible people wise.
8 The instructions of the Lord are correct.
They make the heart rejoice.
The command of the Lord is radiant.
It makes the eyes shine.
9 The fear of the Lord is pure.
It endures forever.
The decisions of the Lord are true.
They are completely fair.
10 They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey, even the drippings from a honeycomb.
11 As your servant I am warned by them.
There is a great reward in following them.
12 Who can notice every mistake?
Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep me from sinning.
Do not let anyone gain control over me.
Then I will be blameless,
and I will be free from any great offense.
14 May the words from my mouth and the thoughts from my heart
be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my defender.
10 “For six years you may plant crops in your fields and harvest them, 11 but in the seventh year you must leave the land unplowed and unused. In that way the poor among your people will have food to eat, and wild animals may eat what the poor people leave. You must do the same with your vineyards and olive groves.
12 “For six days you will do your work, but on the seventh day you must not work. Then your ox and donkey can rest. The slaves born in your household and foreigners will also be refreshed.
13 “Be careful ⌞to do⌟ everything I told you.
“Never mention the names of other gods or let them be heard on your lips.
40 After some of the crowd heard Jesus say these words, they said, “This man is certainly the prophet.” 41 Other people said, “This man is the Messiah.” Still other people asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 Doesn’t Scripture say that the Messiah will come from the descendants of David and from the village of Bethlehem, where David lived?” 43 So the people were divided because of Jesus. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but they couldn’t.
45 When the temple guards returned, the chief priests and Pharisees asked them, “Why didn’t you bring Jesus?”
46 The temple guards answered, “No human has ever spoken like this man.”
47 The Pharisees asked the temple guards, “Have you been deceived too? 48 Has any ruler or any Pharisee believed in him? 49 This crowd is cursed because it doesn’t know Moses’ Teachings.”
50 One of those Pharisees was Nicodemus, who had previously visited Jesus. Nicodemus asked them, 51 “Do Moses’ Teachings enable us to judge a person without first hearing that person’s side of the story? We can’t judge a person without finding out what that person has done.”
52 They asked Nicodemus, “Are you saying this because you’re from Galilee? Study ⌞the Scriptures⌟, and you’ll see that no prophet comes from Galilee.” [a]
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