Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Perfect Revelation of the Lord
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
19 The (A)heavens declare the glory of God;
And the (B)firmament[a] shows [b]His handiwork.
2 Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
4 (C)Their [c]line has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.
In them He has set a [d]tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
(D)And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.
6 Its rising is from one end of heaven,
And its circuit to the other end;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7 (E)The law of the Lord is perfect, [e]converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making (F)wise the simple;
8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than (G)gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the [f]honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.
Justice for All
23 “You (A)shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an (B)unrighteous witness. 2 (C)You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; (D)nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. 3 You shall not show partiality to a (E)poor man in his dispute.
4 (F)“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. 5 (G)If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.
6 (H)“You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute. 7 (I)Keep yourself far from a false matter; (J)do not kill the innocent and righteous. For (K)I will not justify the wicked. 8 And (L)you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.
9 “Also (M)you shall not oppress a [a]stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
16 So let no one (A)judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a [a]festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 (B)which are a shadow of things to come, but the [b]substance is of Christ. 18 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has [c]not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to (C)the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, (D)grows with the increase that is from God.
20 [d]Therefore, if you (E)died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, (F)why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— 21 (G)“Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” 22 which all concern things which perish with the using—(H)according to the commandments and doctrines of men? 23 (I)These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and [e]neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.