Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
15 See, today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and adversity.(A) 16 For[a] I am commanding you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live[b] and multiply, and the Lord your God may bless you in the land you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you do not listen and you are led astray to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I tell you today that you will certainly perish and will not live long in the land you are entering to possess across the Jordan. 19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life(B) so that you and your descendants may live, 20 love the Lord your God, obey Him, and remain faithful[c] to Him. For He is your life, and He will prolong your life in the land the Lord swore to give to your fathers(C) Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Psalm 119
Delight in God’s Word
א Alef
1 How[a] happy are those whose way is blameless,(A)
who live according to the Lord’s instruction!(B)
2 Happy are those who keep His decrees(C)
and seek Him with all their heart.(D)
3 They do nothing wrong;(E)
they follow His ways.
4 You have commanded that Your precepts(F)
be diligently kept.
5 If only my ways were committed
to keeping Your statutes!(G)
6 Then I would not be ashamed(H)
when I think about all Your commands.
7 I will praise You with a sincere heart(I)
when I learn Your righteous judgments.
8 I will keep Your statutes;
never abandon me.(J)
The Problem of Immaturity
3 Brothers, I was not able to speak to you as spiritual people but as people of the flesh, as babies in Christ.(A) 2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, because you were not yet ready for it. In fact, you are still not ready, 3 because you are still fleshly. For since there is envy(B) and strife[a](C) among you, are you not fleshly and living like unbelievers?[b] 4 For whenever someone says, “I’m with Paul,” and another, “I’m with Apollos,”(D) are you not unspiritual people?[c][d]
The Role of God’s Servants
5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, and each has the role the Lord has given. 6 I planted,(E) Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 Now the one planting and the one watering are one in purpose, and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s coworkers.[e] You are God’s field, God’s building.(F)
Murder Begins in the Heart
21 “You have heard that it was said to our ancestors,[a] Do not murder,(A)[b] and whoever murders will be subject to judgment.(B) 22 But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother[c] will be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Fool!’[d] will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, ‘You moron!’ will be subject to hellfire.[e](C) 23 So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Reach a settlement quickly with your adversary while you’re on the way with him, or your adversary will hand you over to the judge, the judge to[f] the officer, and you will be thrown into prison.(D) 26 I assure you: You will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny![g]
Adultery in the Heart
27 “You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery.(E)[h] 28 But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.(F) 29 If your right eye causes you to sin,(G) gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.(H) 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell!
Divorce Practices Censured
31 “It was also said, Whoever divorces(I) his wife must give her a written notice of divorce.(J)[i] 32 But I tell you, everyone who divorces his wife, except in a case of sexual immorality,[j] causes her to commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.(K)
Tell the Truth
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors,[k] You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord.(L)[l] 34 But I tell you, don’t take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, because it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King.(M) 36 Neither should you swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. 37 But let your word ‘yes’ be ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no.’[m] Anything more than this is from the evil one.(N)
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