Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Happy Home
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover].
128 ·Happy [Blessed] are those who ·respect [fear] the Lord [Prov. 1:7] and ·obey him [L walk in his ways].
2 You will ·enjoy what you work for [L eat the labor of your hands],
and you will be ·blessed [happy] with ·good things [prosperity].
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine [C produce many children] in your house [Prov. 31:10–31].
Your children will be like olive branches [C bringing much good] around your table [Mic. 4:4; Zech. 3:10].
4 This is how the man who ·respects [fears] the Lord [Prov. 1:7]
will be blessed.
5 May the Lord bless you from Mount Zion [C the location of the Temple];
may you ·enjoy [experience; L see] the ·good things [prosperity] of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
6 May you see your grandchildren.
Let there be peace in Israel.
12 On the day that the Lord gave up the Amorites to the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel], Joshua stood before all the people of Israel and said to the Lord:
“Sun, stand still over Gibeon.
Moon, stand still over the Valley of Aijalon.”
13 So the sun stood still,
and the moon stopped
until the ·people [nation] ·defeated [took vengeance on] their enemies.
·These words are [L Is this not…?] written in the ·Book [Scroll] of Jashar [C meaning “Upright One”; an extrabiblical account of Israel’s wars, now lost; 2 Sam. 1:18].
The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and waited to go down for a full day. 14 ·That has never happened at any time [L There has been no day like it] before that day or since. That was the day the Lord listened to a human being. Truly the Lord was fighting for Israel!
Obey God’s Law(A)
15 Then some Pharisees and ·teachers of the law [scribes] came to Jesus from Jerusalem. They asked him, 2 “Why don’t your ·followers [disciples] obey the ·unwritten laws which have been handed down to us [L traditions of the elders]? [L For] They don’t wash their hands before they eat [C a Jewish ritual for ceremonial purity].”
3 Jesus answered, “And why do you ·refuse to obey [break; violate] God’s command ·so that you can follow your own teachings [L for the sake of your traditions]? 4 God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother [Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16],’ and ‘Anyone who ·says cruel things to [speaks evil of; curses] his father or mother must be put to death [Ex. 21:17; Lev. 20:9].’ 5 But you say a person can tell his father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you, but I have ·given [dedicated; devoted] it to God already [C a practice known as Corban; see Mark 7:10–12].’ 6 You teach that person ·not to [that he need not] honor his father or his mother. You ·rejected [invalidated; canceled; nullified] ·what God said [L the word of God] for the sake of your own ·rules [tradition]. 7 You are hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he ·said [L prophesied] about you:
8 ‘These people show honor to me with ·words [L their lips],
but their hearts are far from me.
9 Their worship of me is ·worthless [futile; in vain].
The things [doctrines] they teach are nothing but human ·rules [commandments; Is. 29:13].’”
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