Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Other Laws
19 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell all the people of Israel: ‘I am the Lord your God. You must be holy because I am holy.
9 “‘You harvest your crops on your land. But do not harvest all the way to the corners of your fields. If grain falls onto the ground, don’t gather it up. 10 Don’t pick all the grapes in your vineyards. And don’t pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. You must leave those things for poor people. You must also leave them 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 make a false promise by my name. If you do that, you will show that you don’t respect your God. I am the Lord.
13 “‘You must not cheat your neighbor. You must not rob him. You must not keep a hired worker’s salary all night until morning. 14 You must not curse a deaf man. And you must not put something in front of a blind person to make him fall. But you must respect your God. I am the Lord.
15 “‘Be fair in your judging. You must not show special favor to poor people or great people. You must be fair when you judge your neighbor. 16 You must not spread false stories against other people. You must not do anything that would put your neighbor’s life in danger. I am the Lord.
17 “‘You must not hate your brother in your heart. If your neighbor does something wrong, tell him about it. If you do not, you will be partly to blame. 18 Forget about the wrong things people do to you. You must not try to get even. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. I am the Lord.
33 Lord, teach me your demands.
Then I will obey them until the end.
34 Help me understand, so I can obey your teachings.
I will obey them with all my heart.
35 Help me obey your commands
because that makes me happy.
36 Help me want to obey your rules
instead of selfishly wanting riches.
37 Keep me from looking at worthless things.
Let me live by your word.
38 Keep your promise to me, your servant,
so you will be feared.
39 Take away the shame I fear.
Your laws are good.
40 How I want to follow your orders.
Give me life because of your goodness.
10 Like an expert builder I built the foundation of that house. I used the gift that God gave me to do this. Others are building on that foundation. But everyone should be careful how he builds. 11 The foundation has already been built. No one can build any other foundation. The foundation that has already been laid is Jesus Christ.
16 You should know that you yourselves are God’s temple. God’s Spirit lives in you. 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him, because God’s temple is holy. You yourselves are God’s temple.
18 Do not fool yourselves. If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this world, he should become a fool. Then he can become truly wise, 19 because the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. It is written in the Scriptures, “He catches wise men in their own clever traps.”[a] 20 It is also written in the Scriptures, “The Lord knows what people think. He knows they are just a puff of wind.”[b] 21 So you should not brag about men. All things are yours: 22 Paul, Apollos and Peter; the world, life, death, the present, and the future—all these things are yours. 23 And you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
Don’t Fight Back
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 stand up against an evil person. If someone slaps you on the right cheek, then turn and let him slap the other cheek too. 40 If someone wants to sue you in court and take your shirt, then let him have your coat too. 41 If a soldier forces you to go with him one mile, then go with him two miles. 42 If a person asks you for something, then give it to him. Don’t refuse to give to a person who wants to borrow from you.
Love All People
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[b] and hate your enemies.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you.[c] 45 If you do this, then you will be true sons of your Father in heaven. Your Father causes the sun to rise on good people and on bad people. Your Father sends rain to those who do good and to those who do wrong. 46 If you love only the people who love you, then you will get no reward. Even the tax collectors do that. 47 And if you are nice only to your friends, then you are no better than other people. Even people without God are nice to their friends. 48 So you must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.