Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Holiness of the Community
19 The Lord told Moses 2 to speak to the whole community of the Israelites and tell them these things:
You shall be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy.
9 When you reap the harvest from your land, you are not to finish reaping all the way to the edge of the field. Do not gather up the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not strip your vineyard clean, and do not pick up the fallen grapes from your vineyard, but leave them for the poor and the alien who live with you. I am the Lord your God.
11 You shall not steal. You shall not swindle. You shall not lie to one another. 12 You shall not swear falsely by my name so that you do not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.
13 You shall not exploit your neighbor. You shall not rob him. You shall not keep the wages of a day laborer with you overnight until morning.
14 You shall not curse a deaf person, nor shall you put an obstacle in front of a blind person, but you must fear your God. I am the Lord.
15 You shall not act unjustly in court cases. Do not show favoritism to a poor person, and do not show undue honor to an important person. You must judge your fellow citizens with justice.
16 You shall not go around spreading slander among your people. You shall not testify falsely against your neighbor in a capital case.[a] I am the Lord.
17 You shall not hate a fellow Israelite[b] in your heart. You must openly rebuke your fellow citizen so that you do not become responsible for his sin. 18 You must not take revenge. You must not bear a grudge against the members of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
He: That You May Be Feared
33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes.
Then I will guard it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, and I will guard your law.
I will keep it with all my heart.
35 Make me walk on the path of your commandments,
for I take pleasure in it.
36 Direct my heart toward your testimonies
and not toward material gain.
37 Keep my eyes from looking at worthless things.
Give me life according to your ways.[a]
38 Confirm your sayings to your servant,
so that you may be feared.
39 Take away my disgrace which I dread,
for your judgments are good.
40 How I long for your precepts!
Give me life in your righteousness.
10 In keeping with the grace of God given to me, as a wise master builder, I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. But let each person be careful how he builds on it. 11 In fact, no one can lay any other foundation than the one that has been laid, which is Jesus Christ.
16 Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit lives in[a] you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and that is what you are.
18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this world, let him become a fool so that he may become wise. 19 To be sure, the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,”[b] 20 and again, “The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise; he knows that it is worthless.”[c] 21 Therefore let no one boast about men. For all things belong to you— 22 whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. All things belong to you, 23 and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
Love Your Enemies
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, do not resist an evildoer. If someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you to take away your shirt, give him your coat too. 41 Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[b] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 Indeed if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even tax collectors do that, don’t they? 47 If you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even the unbelievers do that? 48 So then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.