Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

3 My brothers, I could not talk to you at first as to people who have the Spirit of God. But I talked to you as people who have the spirit of this world. I talked to you as people who are very new-born, baby Christians.

² I gave you milk to drink, not food to eat. You were not ready for food. And even now you are not ready for it.

³ You still have the spirit of this world in you. You are jealous of each other and you are quarrelling. The spirit of this world is still in you and you live like people of this world.

⁴ One says, `I belong to Paul.' Another says, `I belong to Apollos.' Does not that show that you have the spirit of this world?

⁵ After all, who is Apollos? And who is Paul? We both work for God. You believed because of the work we did. The Lord gave each of us our work to do.

⁶ I planted the seed. Apollos put water on the seed. But God made the seed grow.

⁷ So then the man who plants is nothing and the man who waters is nothing. God alone makes the seed grow.

⁸ The man who plants and the man who waters are equal. Each one will be paid for his own work.

⁹ We work together for God. You are God's farm. You are God's house.

²¹ `You have heard this said to men long ago, "Do not kill. Anyone who kills will be judged in court."

²² `But I tell you this. Anyone who is angry with his brother without having a good reason, will be judged in court. Anyone who says wrong things to his brother will be judged for it in the big court. Anyone who says "You fool!" will be judged to go into hell fire.

²³ `Perhaps you are bringing your gift to God at his altar. There you remember that your brother has something against you.

²⁴ If so, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First, go to your brother and make things right with him. Then come and give your gift to God.

²⁵ `If someone wants to take you to court, make an agreement with him quickly on the way. If you do not, he will take you to the judge. The judge will give you to the guard, and the guard will put you in prison.

²⁶ I tell you the truth, you will not get out of prison until you have paid every piece of money.'

²⁷ `You have heard that the law says, "Do not commit adultery [have another man or woman who is not your husband or wife]."

²⁸ But I tell you that if a man looks at a woman and he wants her, then he has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

²⁹ `If your right eye makes you do wrong, take it out and throw it away. It is better to lose a part of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

³⁰ If your right hand makes you do wrong, cut it off and throw it away. It is better to lose a part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell fire.

³¹ `The law said, "Any man who does not want to keep his wife must give her a paper to tell others she is no longer his wife."

³² But I tell you, no man may send away his wife unless she has committed adultery. If he does send her away, he is making her commit adultery. And if a man marries a woman who has been sent away from her husband, he commits adultery.'

³³ `Also you have heard this said to men long ago, "You must not make a promise in God's name and break it." And, "You must do for the Lord what you said you would do."

³⁴ `But I tell you, do not make a promise in God's name. Do not use the name of heaven, because that is where God rules.

³⁵ Do not use the name of earth, because that is where God rests his feet. Do not use the name of Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King.

³⁶ Do not make a promise by your head, because you cannot make one hair of your head white or black.

³⁷ You must mean "Yes" when you say "Yes". You must mean "No" when you say "No". To say anything more than that is wrong.'