Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Bet: Hidden in My Heart
9 How can a young man keep his path pure?
By guarding it with your words.[a]
10 With all my heart I seek you.
Do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your sayings[b] in my heart,
so that I may not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Lord!
Teach me your statutes.
13 With my lips I tell about all the judgments
that come from your mouth.
14 I rejoice in the way that is taught by your testimonies
as much as I delight in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts,
and I will consider your paths.
16 In your statutes I delight.
I will not forget your words.
Second Address to a Son: Wisdom Provides Protection
2 My son, if you accept my words,
if you store up my commands within you,
2 by paying attention[a] to wisdom with your ear,
by reaching out for understanding with your heart,
3 if indeed you call out for intelligence,
if you raise your voice for understanding,
4 if you search for it like silver,
if you hunt for it like hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
then you will find the knowledge of God,
6 because the Lord gives wisdom.
Knowledge and understanding come from his mouth.
7 He stores up sound judgment for upright people.
He is a shield for those who walk in integrity.
8 He protects those who walk on paths of justice.
He guards the way of his favored ones.[b]
9 Then you will understand righteousness, justice,
and fairness—every good path,
10 because wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant for your soul.
11 Foresight will stand guard over you.
Understanding will protect you.
12 It will save you from the evil way,
from the man who speaks perverse things,
13 from those who abandon upright paths
in order to walk in the ways of darkness.
14 It will save you from those who enjoy doing evil,
from those who celebrate the twisted ways of evil,
15 from those whose paths are crooked,
and from those whose ways are devious.
Marriage and Divorce
19 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. 3 Some Pharisees came in order to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”
4 He answered, “Haven’t you read that from the beginning their Maker ‘made them male and female,’[a] 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will be one flesh’?[b] 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, man must not separate.”
7 They asked him, “Then why did Moses command a man to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
8 Jesus said to them, “Because of your hard hearts, Moses permitted you to divorce your wives, but it was not that way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except on the grounds of her sexual immorality, and marries another woman is committing adultery.”[c]
10 His disciples said to him, “If this is the relationship of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”
11 But he said to them, “Not everyone can accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For example, there are eunuchs who were born that way, and others who were castrated by people, and others who decided to remain unmarried because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept this should accept it.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.