Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

²¹ If you make a ·promise [vow] to give ·something [a vow] to the Lord your God [Lev. 7:16–17; Num. 30:2–17], do not ·be slow [delay] to pay it, because the Lord your God ·demands [will surely seek] it from you. Do not be guilty of sin. ²² But if you do not make the ·promise [vow], you will not be guilty. ²³ You must do whatever ·you say you will do [^Lcomes out of your lips], because you ·chose to make [^Lfreely made with your own mouth] the ·promise [vow] to the Lord your God [Eccl. 5:4–5].

²⁴ If you go into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat as many grapes as you wish, but do not put any grapes into your basket. ²⁵ If you go into your neighbor’s grainfield, you may pick grain with your hands, but you must not cut down your neighbor’s grain with your sickle.

24 A man might marry a woman but later decide she doesn’t ·please him [^Lfind favor in his eyes] because he has found something ·bad [indecent; objectionable] about her. He writes out divorce papers for her, ·gives them to her [^Lplaces them in her hand], and sends her away from his house. ² After she leaves his house, she goes and marries another man, ³ but her second husband ·does not like her either [hates her]. So he writes out divorce papers for her, ·gives them to her [^Lplaces them in her hand], and sends her away from his house. Or the second husband might die. ⁴ In either case, her first husband who divorced her must not marry her again, because she has become ·unclean [^Cin a ritual sense]. The Lord would ·hate [detest] this. Don’t bring this sin into the land the Lord your God is giving you as your ·own [^Linheritance; Matt. 5:31–32; 19:3–9].

¹⁰ When you make a loan to your neighbors, don’t go into their homes to get ·something in place of it [a pledge]. ¹¹ Stay outside and let them go in and get what they ·promised [pledged to] you. ¹² If a poor person gives you a ·coat to show he will pay the loan back [^Lpledge], don’t keep it overnight. ¹³ Give the ·coat [^Lpledge] back at sunset, because your neighbor needs that coat to sleep in, and he will ·be grateful to [bless] you. And the Lord your God will see that you have done a ·good [righteous] thing.

¹⁴ Don’t ·cheat [oppress; exploit] hired servants who are poor and needy, whether they are ·fellow Israelites [relatives; brothers] or ·foreigners [resident aliens] living in one of your ·towns [gates]. ¹⁵ Pay them each day before sunset, because they are poor and need the money. Otherwise, they may ·complain [cry out] to the Lord about you, and you will be guilty of sin.

Love All People

2 My dear brothers and sisters [^Cfellow believers], as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, never ·think some people are more important than others [show favoritism/partiality; Lev. 19:15; Deut. 10:17–18]. ² Suppose someone comes into your ·church meeting [gathering; assembly; ^Cthe word can mean “synagogue,” but here refers to a house church gathering] wearing nice clothes and a gold ring. At the same time a poor person comes in wearing ·old, dirty [shabby; filthy] clothes. ³ You ·show special attention to [take notice of; look favorably on] the one wearing nice clothes and say, “Please, sit here in this good seat.” But you say to the poor person, “Stand over there,” or, “Sit on the floor ·by my feet [or beside my footstool].” ⁴ ·What are you doing? You are making some people more important than others [^LAre you not discriminating among yourselves…?], and ·with evil thoughts you are deciding that one person is better [or you are judging with evil thoughts; or you are acting like judges with evil motives].

⁵ Listen, my ·dear [^Lbeloved] brothers and sisters [^Cfellow believers]! ·God chose [^LDid not God choose…?] the poor in the world [1 Cor. 1:26–29] to be rich with faith and to ·receive [^Lbe heirs of] the kingdom God promised to those who love him [Luke 6:20]. ⁶ But you ·show no respect to [dishonor; have insulted] the poor. ·The rich are always trying to control your lives. They are the ones who take you to court [^LDon’t the rich exploit/oppress you and drag you into court?]. ⁷ ·And they are the ones who speak against Jesus, who owns you [or Don’t they slander the noble/good name by which you were called? ^LDon’t they blaspheme the noble/good name that was invoked over you? ^CThe “name” may be the person’s name or the name of Jesus, to whom they belong].

⁸ This royal law [^Cbecause God the king decreed it, or because it is the supreme law] is found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself [Lev. 19:18; Matt. 22:37–40].” ·If you [or If you really; or If you, however,] ·obey [fulfill; carry out] this law, you are doing ·right [well]. ⁹ But if you ·treat one person as being more important than another [show favoritism/partiality; 2:1], you are sinning. You are ·guilty of breaking God’s law [^Lconvicted by the law as lawbreakers/ transgressors]. ¹⁰ [^LFor] A person who ·follows [keeps; obeys] all of God’s law but ·fails to obey even one command [^Lstumbles/falls in one point] is guilty of breaking all the commands in that law. ¹¹ [^LFor] The same God who said, “You must not ·be guilty of [commit] adultery [Ex. 20:14; Deut. 5:18],” also said, “You must not murder anyone [Ex. 20:13; Deut. 5:17].” So if you do not ·take part in [commit] adultery but you murder someone, ·you are guilty of breaking all of God’s law [^Lyou have become a breaker/transgressor of the law; Matt. 5:18–19; Gal. 5:3]. ¹² ·In everything you say and do, remember that you [^LSo speak and so act as those who] will be judged by the law ·that makes people free [^Lof freedom/liberty]. ¹³ ·So you must show mercy to others, or God will not show mercy to you when he judges you [^LFor judgment is without mercy to the one who does not act mercifully]. ·But the person who shows mercy can stand without fear at the judgment [^LBut mercy triumphs over judgment].