Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Ten Commandments(A)
20 And God spoke (B)all these words, saying:
2 (C)“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, (D)out of the house of [a]bondage.
3 (E)“You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 (F)“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
12 (A)“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be (B)long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
13 (C)“You shall not murder.
14 (D)“You shall not commit (E)adultery.
15 (F)“You shall not steal.
16 (G)“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 (H)“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; (I)you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
The People Afraid of God’s Presence
18 Now (J)all the people (K)witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain (L)smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. 19 Then they said to Moses, (M)“You speak with us, and we will hear; but (N)let not God speak with us, lest we die.”
20 And Moses said to the people, (O)“Do not fear; (P)for God has come to test you, and (Q)that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.”
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.
4 though (A)I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I (B)more so: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, (C)of the tribe of Benjamin, (D)a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, (E)a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, (F)persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
7 But (G)what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss (H)for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having (I)my own righteousness, which is from the law, but (J)that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the (K)power of His resurrection, and (L)the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may (M)attain[a] to the resurrection from the dead.
Pressing Toward the Goal
12 Not that I have already (N)attained,[b] or am already (O)perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have [c]apprehended; but one thing I do, (P)forgetting those things which are behind and (Q)reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 (R)I press toward the goal for the prize of (S)the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers(A)
33 “Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner (B)who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and (C)went into a far country. 34 Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. 35 (D)And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. 37 Then last of all he sent his (E)son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, (F)‘This is the heir. (G)Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39 (H)So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”
41 (I)They said to Him, (J)“He will destroy those wicked men miserably, (K)and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will [a]render to him the fruits in their seasons.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
(L)‘The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the Lord’s doing,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 “Therefore I say to you, (M)the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. 44 And (N)whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, (O)it will grind him to powder.”
45 Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they [b]perceived that He was speaking of them. 46 But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they (P)feared the multitudes, because (Q)they took Him for a prophet.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.