Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Ten Commandments(A)
20 Then God spoke all these words:
| א[a] | 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt— from the house of slavery. 3 You are to have no other gods as a substitute for me.[b] |
| ב | 4 “You are not to craft for yourselves an idol or anything resembling what is in the skies above, or on earth beneath, or in the water sources under the earth. |
| 12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. | |
| ו | 13 “You are not to commit murder. |
| ז | 14 “You are not to commit adultery. |
| ח | 15 “You are not to steal. |
| ט | 16 “You are not to give false testimony against your neighbor. |
| י | 17 “You are not to desire[a] your neighbor’s house,[b] nor your neighbor’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox, his donkey, nor anything else that pertains to your neighbor.” |
The People are Terrified in God’s Presence
18 All the people experienced the thunder and lightning, the sound of the ram’s horn, and the smoking mountain. And as the people experienced it, they trembled and stood at a distance. 19 They told Moses, “You speak to us and we will listen, but don’t let God speak with us, or we may die.
20 Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you may fear him in order that you don’t sin.”
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
God’s Revelation in the Heavens
19 The heavens are declaring the glory of God,
and their expanse shows the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech,
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor are there words—
their voice is not heard—
4 yet their message[a] goes out into all the world,
and their words to the ends of the earth.
He has set up a tent for the sun in the heavens,[b]
5 which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
or like a champion who rejoices at the beginning of a race.
6 Its circuit is from one end of the sky to the other,
and nothing is hidden from its heat.
God’s Revelation in the Law
7 The Law of the Lord is perfect,
restoring life.
The testimony of the Lord is steadfast,
making foolish people wise.
8 The precepts of the Lord are upright,
making the heart rejoice.
The commandment of the Lord is pure,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean,
standing forever.
The judgments of the Lord are true;
they are altogether righteous.
10 They are more desirable than gold,
even much fine gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
even the drippings from a honeycomb.
11 Moreover your servant is warned by them;
and there is great reward in keeping them.
12 Who can detect his own[c] mistake?
Cleanse me from hidden sin.
13 Preserve your servant from arrogant people;[d]
do not let them rule over me.
Then I will be upright[e]
and acquitted of great wickedness.
14 May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart
be acceptable in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
4 although I could have confidence in the flesh. If anyone thinks he can place confidence in the flesh, I have more reason to think so.[a] 5 Having been circumcised on the eighth day, I am of the nation of Israel, from the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews. As far as the Law is concerned, I was a Pharisee. 6 As for my zeal, I was a persecutor of the church. As far as righteousness in the Law is concerned, I was blameless.
7 But whatever things were assets to me, these I now consider a loss for the sake of the Messiah.[b] 8 What is more, I continue to consider all these things to be a loss for the sake of what is far more valuable, knowing the Messiah[c] Jesus, my Lord. It is because of him that I have experienced the loss of all those things. Indeed, I consider them rubbish[d] in order to gain the Messiah[e] 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the Law, but one that comes through the faithfulness[f] of the Messiah,[g] the righteousness that comes from God and that depends on faith. 10 I want to know the Messiah[h]—what his resurrection power is like and what it means to share in his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, 11 though I hope to experience the resurrection from the dead.
Pursuing the Goal
12 It’s not that I have already reached this goal or have already become perfect. But I keep pursuing it, hoping somehow to embrace it just as I have been embraced by the Messiah[i] Jesus. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself to have embraced it yet.[j] But this one thing I do: Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I keep pursuing the goal to win the prize[k] of God’s heavenly call in the Messiah[l] Jesus.
The Parable about the Tenant Farmers(A)
33 “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a wall around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went abroad. 34 When harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenant farmers to collect his produce. 35 But the farmers took his servants and beat one, killed another, and attacked another with stones. 36 Again, he sent other servants to them, a greater number than the first, but the tenant farmers[a] treated them the same way. 37 Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenant farmers saw his son, they told one another, ‘This is the heir. Come on, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’ 39 So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 Now when the owner of the vineyard returns, what will he do to those farmers?”
41 They told him, “He will put those horrible men to a horrible death. Then he will lease the vineyard to other farmers who will give him his produce at harvest time.”
42 Jesus asked them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures,
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.[b]
This was the Lord’s[c] doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes.’?[d]
43 That is why I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce fruit for it. 44 The person who falls over this stone will be broken to pieces, but it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”[e]
45 When the high priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was talking about them. 46 Although they wanted to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus[f] to be a prophet.
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