Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Israel Belongs to God

19 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell all the Israelites: I am the Lord your God. I am holy, so you must be holy.

⁹ “When you cut your crops at harvest time, don’t cut all the way to the corners of your fields. And if grain falls on the ground, you must not gather up that grain. ¹⁰ Don’t pick all the grapes in your vineyards or pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. You must leave those things for your poor people and for people traveling through your country. I am the Lord your God.

¹¹ “You must not steal. You must not cheat people. You must not lie to each other. ¹² You must not use my name to make false promises. If you do that, you will show that you don’t respect the name of your God. I am the Lord!

¹³ “You must not cheat or rob your neighbor. You must not hold a hired worker’s salary overnight until morning.^[a]

¹⁴ “You must not curse anyone who is deaf. You must not do anything to make a blind person fall. But you must respect your God. I am the Lord.

¹⁵ “You must be fair in judgment. You must not show special favor to the poor. And you must not show special favor to important people. You must be fair when you judge your neighbor. ¹⁶ You must not go around spreading false stories against other people. Don’t do anything that would put your neighbor’s life in danger. I am the Lord.

¹⁷ “Don’t secretly hate any of your neighbors. But tell them openly what they have done wrong so that you will not be just as guilty of sin as they are. ¹⁸ Forget about the wrong things people do to you. Don’t try to get even. Love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

He

¹⁰ Like an expert builder I built the foundation of that house. I used the gift that God gave me to do this. Other people are building on that foundation. But everyone should be careful how they build. ¹¹ The foundation that has already been built is Jesus Christ, and no one can build any other foundation.

¹⁶ You should know that you yourselves are God’s temple.^[a] God’s Spirit lives in you. ¹⁷ If you destroy God’s temple, God will destroy you, because God’s temple is holy. You yourselves are God’s temple.

¹⁸ Don’t fool yourselves. Whoever thinks they are wise in this world should become a fool. That’s the only way they can be wise. ¹⁹ I say this because the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, “He catches those who think they are wise in their own clever traps.”^{[b] 20} The Scriptures also say, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise. He knows that their thoughts are worth nothing.”^{[c] 21} So there is not a person on earth that any of you should be boasting about. Everything is yours: ²² Paul, Apollos, Peter, the world, life, death, the present, and the future—all these are yours. ²³ And you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

Jesus Teaches About Fighting Back^(A)

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’^{[a] 39} But I tell you, don’t fight back against someone who wants to do harm to you. If they hit you on the right cheek, let them hit the other cheek too. ⁴⁰ If anyone wants to sue you in court and take your shirt, let them have your coat too. ⁴¹ If a soldier forces you to walk with him one mile,^[b] go with him two. ⁴² Give to anyone who asks you for something. Don’t refuse to give to anyone who wants to borrow from you.

Love Your Enemies^(B)

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor^[c] and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies. Pray for those who treat you badly. ⁴⁵ If you do this, you will be children who are truly like your Father in heaven. He lets the sun rise for all people, whether they are good or bad. He sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong. ⁴⁶ If you love only those who love you, why should you get a reward for that? Even the tax collectors do that. ⁴⁷ And if you are nice only to your friends, you are no better than anyone else. Even the people who don’t know God are nice to their friends. ⁴⁸ What I am saying is that you must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.