Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Law of the Lord
119 Happy are those whose lives are faultless,
who live according to the law of the Lord.
2 Happy are those who follow his commands,
who obey him with all their heart.
3 They never do wrong;
they walk in the Lord's ways.
4 Lord, you have given us your laws
and told us to obey them faithfully.
5 How I hope that I shall be faithful
in keeping your instructions!
6 If I pay attention to all your commands,
then I will not be put to shame.
7 As I learn your righteous judgments,
I will praise you with a pure heart.
8 I will obey your laws;
never abandon me!
Conditions for Restoration and Blessing
30 “I have now given you a choice between a blessing and a curse. When all these things have happened to you, and you are living among the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you, you will remember the choice I gave you. 2 If you and your descendants will turn back to the Lord and with all your heart obey his commands that I am giving you today, 3 then the Lord your God will have mercy on you. He will bring you back from the nations where he has scattered you, and he will make you prosperous again. 4 Even if you are scattered to the farthest corners of the earth, the Lord your God will gather you together and bring you back, 5 so that you may again take possession of the land where your ancestors once lived. And he will make you more prosperous and more numerous than your ancestors ever were. 6 The Lord your God will give you and your descendants obedient hearts, so that you will love him with all your heart, and you will continue to live in that land. 7 He will turn all these curses against your enemies, who hated you and oppressed you, 8 and you will again obey him and keep all his commands that I am giving you today. 9 The Lord will make you prosperous in all that you do; you will have many children and a lot of livestock, and your fields will produce abundant crops. He will be as glad to make you prosperous as he was to make your ancestors prosperous,
The Teaching of the Ancestors(A)
15 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the Law came from Jerusalem to Jesus and asked him, 2 “Why is it that your disciples disobey the teaching handed down by our ancestors? They don't wash their hands in the proper way before they eat!”
3 Jesus answered, “And why do you disobey God's command and follow your own teaching? 4 (B)For God said, ‘Respect your father and your mother,’ and ‘If you curse your father or your mother, you are to be put to death.’ 5 But you teach that if people have something they could use to help their father or mother, but say, ‘This belongs to God,’ 6 they do not need to honor their father.[a] In this way you disregard God's command, in order to follow your own teaching. 7 You hypocrites! How right Isaiah was when he prophesied about you!
8 (C)‘These people, says God, honor me with their words,
but their heart is really far away from me.
9 It is no use for them to worship me,
because they teach human rules as though they were my laws!’”
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.