Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
ב Bet
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping Your[a] word.(A)
10 I have sought You with all my heart;(B)
don’t let me wander from Your commands.(C)
11 I have treasured Your word in my heart(D)
so that I may not sin against You.
12 Lord, may You be praised;
teach me Your statutes.(E)
13 With my lips I proclaim
all the judgments from Your mouth.(F)
14 I rejoice in the way revealed by Your decrees(G)
as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on Your precepts(H)
and think about Your ways.(I)
16 I will delight in Your statutes;(J)
I will not forget Your word.
Wisdom’s Worth
2 My son, if you accept my words(A)
and store up my commands within you,
2 listening closely[a] to wisdom
and directing your heart to understanding;
3 furthermore, if you call out to insight
and lift your voice to understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver
and search for it like hidden treasure,(B)
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and discover the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.(C)
7 He stores up success[b] for the upright;
He is a shield for those who live with integrity(D)
8 so that He may guard the paths of justice
and protect the way of His loyal followers.(E)
9 Then you will understand righteousness, justice,
and integrity—every good path.
10 For wisdom will enter your mind,
and knowledge will delight your heart.
11 Discretion will watch over you,
and understanding will guard you,(F)
12 rescuing you from the way of evil—
from the one who says perverse things,
13 from those who abandon the right paths
to walk in ways of darkness,(G)
14 from those who enjoy doing evil(H)
and celebrate perversion,
15 whose paths are crooked,(I)
and whose ways are devious.(J)
The Question of Divorce
19 When Jesus had finished this instruction,(A) He departed from Galilee and went to the region of Judea across the Jordan.(B) 2 Large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.(C) 3 Some Pharisees approached Him to test Him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife on any grounds?”(D)
4 “Haven’t you read,” He replied, “that He who created[a] them in the beginning made them male and female,”(E)[b] 5 and He also said:
“For this reason a man will leave
his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two will become one flesh?(F)[c]
6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate.”
7 “Why then,” they asked Him, “did Moses command us to give divorce papers(G) and to send her away?”
8 He told them, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of the hardness of your hearts. But it was not like that from the beginning. 9 And I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”[d](H)
10 His disciples(I) said to Him, “If the relationship of a man with his wife is like this, it’s better not to marry!”
11 But He told them, “Not everyone can accept this saying, but only those it has been given(J) to. 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb, there are eunuchs who were made by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves that way because of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.”
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