Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
15 See, today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and adversity.(A) 16 For[a] I am commanding you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live[b] and multiply, and the Lord your God may bless you in the land you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you do not listen and you are led astray to bow in worship to other gods and serve them, 18 I tell you today that you will certainly perish and will not prolong your days in the land you are entering to possess across the Jordan. 19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life(B) so that you and your descendants may live, 20 love the Lord your God, obey him, and remain faithful[c] to him. For he is your life, and he will prolong your days as you live in the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors(C) Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Psalm 119
Delight in God’s Word
א Aleph
1 How[a] happy are those whose way is blameless,(A)
who walk according to the Lord’s instruction!(B)
2 Happy are those who keep his decrees(C)
and seek him with all their heart.(D)
3 They do nothing wrong;(E)
they walk in his ways.
4 You have commanded that your precepts(F)
be diligently kept.
5 If only my ways were committed
to keeping your statutes!(G)
6 Then I would not be ashamed(H)
when I think about all your commands.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart(I)
when I learn your righteous judgments.
8 I will keep your statutes;
never abandon me.(J)
The Problem of Immaturity
3 For my part, brothers and sisters, I was not able to speak to you as spiritual people but as people of the flesh, as babies in Christ.(A) 2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, since you were not yet ready for it. In fact, you are still not ready, 3 because you are still worldly. For since there is envy(B) and strife[a](C) among you, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans? 4 For whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,”(D) are you not acting like mere humans?
The Role of God’s Servants
5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, and each has the role the Lord has given. 6 I planted,(E) Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So, then, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one,[b] and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s coworkers.[c] You are God’s field, God’s building.(F)
Murder Begins in the Heart
21 “You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder,[a](A) and whoever murders will be subject to judgment.(B) 22 But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother or sister[b] will be subject to judgment. Whoever insults[c] his brother or sister will be subject to the court.[d] Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to hellfire.[e](C) 23 So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Reach a settlement quickly with your adversary while you’re on the way with him to the court, or your adversary will hand you over to the judge, and the judge to[f] the officer, and you will be thrown into prison.(D) 26 Truly I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny.[g]
Adultery Begins in the Heart
27 “You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery.[h](E) 28 But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.(F) 29 If your right eye causes you to sin,(G) gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.(H) 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
Divorce Practices Censured
31 “It was also said, Whoever divorces(I) his wife must give her a written notice of divorce.[i](J) 32 But I tell you, everyone who divorces his wife, except in a case of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.(K)
Tell the Truth
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors,You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord.[j](L) 34 But I tell you, don’t take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, because it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King.(M) 36 Do not swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’ Anything more than this is from the evil one.(N)
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