Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
12 How blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he chose to be his possession.
13 From heaven the Lord observes.
He sees all the children of Adam.
14 From his throne room he looks at all the inhabitants of earth.
15 He alone is the one who shapes all their hearts.
He understands all their deeds.
16 No king is saved by the great size of his army.
No hero is rescued by his great strength.
17 You cannot rely on a horse to save you.
Its great strength will not deliver you.
18 Look, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who wait for his mercy.
19 He will deliver their souls from death.
He keeps them alive in famine.
Concluding Prayer
20 Our souls wait for the Lord.
He is our help and our shield.
21 Yes, in him our heart rejoices,
because we trust in his holy name.
22 May your mercy, O Lord, be on us,
even as we wait confidently for you.
The Ten Commandments
20 Then God spoke all these words:
2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, where you were slaves.[a]
3 You shall have no other gods beside me.[b] 4 You shall not make any carved image for yourself or a likeness of anything in heaven above, or on the earth below, or in the waters under the earth. 5 Do not bow down to them or be subservient to them,[c] for I the Lord your God am a jealous God.[d] I follow up on[e] the guilt of the fathers with their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren, if they also hate me. 6 But I show mercy to thousands who love me and keep my commandments.
7 You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not permit anyone who misuses his name to escape unpunished.
8 Remember the Sabbath day[f] by setting it apart as holy. 9 Six days you are to serve and do all your regular work, 10 but the seventh day shall be a sabbath rest to the Lord your God. Do not do any regular work, neither you, nor your sons or daughters, nor your male or female servants, nor your cattle, nor the alien who is residing inside your gates, 11 for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. In this way the Lord blessed the seventh day and made it holy.
12 Honor your father and your mother so that you may spend many days on the land that the Lord your God is giving to you.
13 You shall not commit murder.
14 You shall not commit adultery.
15 You shall not steal.
16 You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.[g]
18 All the people saw and heard the thunder and the lightning and the sound of the ram’s horn and the mountain smoking. The people saw,[h] and they trembled and stood far away. 19 Then they said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen, but do not let God speak with us, or we will die.”
20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you may always fear him, so that you do not sin.”
21 The people stayed at a distance, but Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
The Sermon on the Mount
5 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up onto a mountain. When he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 He opened his mouth and began to teach them. He said these things:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
because they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the gentle,
because they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
because they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
because they will receive mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
because they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
because they will be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven. In fact, that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.