Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Other Laws
19 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell all the ·people [L congregation/community of the sons/T children] of Israel: ‘I am the Lord your God. You must be holy because I am holy.
9 “‘When you harvest your crops on your land, 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 and for ·people traveling through your country [resident aliens; Deut. 24:19–22; Ruth 2]. I am the Lord your God.
11 “‘You must not steal [Ex. 20:15; Deut. 5:19]. You must not cheat people, and you must not lie to each other [Ex. 20:16; Deut. 5:20]. 12 You must not make a false promise by my name, or you will ·show that you don’t respect [L profane the name of] your God. I am the Lord.
13 “‘You must not ·cheat [L oppress] your neighbor or rob him. You must not keep a hired worker’s salary all night until morning [Deut. 24:14–15; Jer. 22:13]. 14 You must not ·curse [or belittle] a deaf person or put ·something [a stumbling block] in front of a blind person to make him fall [Deut. 27:18]. But you must ·respect [fear; Prov. 1:7] your God. I am the Lord.
15 “‘·Be fair in your judging [L Do not render perverted judgment]. You must not show ·special favor [partiality] to poor people or great people, but ·be fair when you [L with righteousness] judge your ·neighbor [countryman; James 2:1, 9]. 16 You must not spread ·false stories [slander] against other people, and you must not do anything that would ·put your neighbor’s life in danger [L stand against the blood of your neighbor]. I am the Lord.
17 “‘You must not hate your ·fellow citizen [brother] in your heart. ·If your ·neighbor [countryman] does something wrong, tell him about it [L You must reprove your brother], or you will be partly to blame. 18 ·Forget about the wrong things people do to you, and do not try to get even [You should not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people]. Love your neighbor as you love yourself [Matt. 19:19; 22:39; Mark 12:31, 33; Luke 10:27]. I am the Lord.
33 Lord, teach me ·your demands [L the way of your demands/statutes/ordinances/requirements],
and I will ·keep [observe] them until the end.
34 Help me understand, so I can ·keep [protect] your ·teachings [instructions; laws],
·obeying [guarding] them with all my heart.
35 Lead me in the path of your commands,
because ·that makes me happy [L I take pleasure in them].
36 Make me want to keep your ·rules [decrees; testimonies]
·instead of wishing for riches [L not to gain/profit].
37 ·Keep me [L Turn my eyes] from looking at ·worthless [false; vain] things.
Let me live ·by your word [L in your path].
38 ·Keep your promise [Confirm your word] to me, your servant,
so you will be ·respected [feared; Prov. 1:7].
39 Take away ·the shame [my scorn/humiliation] I fear,
because your ·laws [judgments] are good.
40 How I ·want to follow [long for] your ·orders [precepts].
Give me life because of your ·goodness [righteousness].
10 ·Using [or Because of] the ·gift [grace] God gave me, I laid the foundation of that building like an ·expert [skilled; wise] builder. Others are building on that foundation, but ·all people [L each one] should be careful how they build on it. 11 The foundation that has already been laid is Jesus Christ, and no one can lay down any other foundation.
16 Don’t ·you [you all; C the verb is plural] know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you [C just as God’s presence filled the tabernacle; Ex. 40:34–38]? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person, because God’s temple is holy ·and you are that temple [or and you are holy; L which is what you are].
18 Do not ·fool [deceive] yourselves. If you think you are wise in this ·world [age], you should become a fool so that you can become truly wise, 19 because the wisdom of this world is ·foolishness [folly] with God. [L For] It is written in the Scriptures, “He catches those who are wise in their own ·clever traps [craftiness; cunning; Job 5:13].” 20 ·It is also written in the Scriptures [L And again], “The Lord knows ·what wise people think [L the thoughts/reasoning/machinations of the wise]. He knows their thoughts are ·worthless [pointless; useless; futile; Ps. 94:11].” 21 So you should not ·brag [boast] about ·human leaders [L people]. All things belong to you: 22 Paul, Apollos, and ·Peter [L Cephas; C Peter’s name in Aramaic; see 1:12]; the world, life, death, the present, and the future—all these belong to you. 23 And you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
Don’t Retaliate(A)
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth [Ex. 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21].’ 39 But I tell you, don’t ·stand up against [resist; retaliate against] an evil person. If someone ·slaps [strikes] you on the right cheek [C either an insult or an act of violence], turn to him the other cheek also. 40 If someone wants to sue you in court and take your ·shirt [tunic], let him have your coat also. 41 If someone forces you to go with him one mile, go with him two miles [C alluding to the practice of impressment, whereby a Roman soldier could command a civilian to carry his gear for a mile]. 42 If a person asks you for something, give it to him. Don’t ·refuse to give to [L turn away from] someone who wants to borrow from you.
Love All People(B)
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy [Lev. 19:18].’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who ·hurt [persecute] you.[a] 45 ·If you do this, […so that] you will be ·true children [L children; or sons] of your Father in heaven. [L For] He causes ·the [L his] sun to rise on evil people and on good people, and he sends rain ·to those who do right and to those who do wrong [L on the just/righteous and the unjust/unrighteous]. 46 [L For] If you love only the people who love you, ·you will get no reward [what reward is there for that?]. ·Even [L Don’t even…?] the tax collectors do that. 47 And if you ·are nice only to your friends [L greet only your brothers; C probably meaning fellow Jews], ·you are no better than other people [L what more are you doing (than others)?]. Even ·those who don’t know God [the Gentiles; pagans] ·are nice to their friends [L do the same]. 48 ·So [Therefore] you must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
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