Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Bride Adores Her Beloved
8 The voice of my beloved!
Behold, he comes,
leaping (A)over the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
9 My beloved is like (B)a gazelle
or a young stag.
Behold, there he stands
behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
looking through the lattice.
10 My beloved speaks and says to me:
(C)“Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
and come away,
11 for behold, the winter is past;
(D)the rain is over and gone.
12 (E)The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of singing[a] has come,
and the voice of (F)the turtledove
is heard in our land.
13 (G)The fig tree ripens its figs,
and (H)the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
(I)Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
and come away.
6 (A)Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
The (B)scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;
7 (C)you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore (D)God, your God, has (E)anointed you
with the oil of (F)gladness (G)beyond your companions;
8 your robes are all fragrant with (H)myrrh and aloes and cassia.
From ivory palaces (I)stringed instruments make you glad;
9 daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;
(J)at your right hand stands the queen in (K)gold of Ophir.
17 (A)Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from (B)the Father of lights, (C)with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.[a] 18 (D)Of his own will he (E)brought us forth by the word of truth, (F)that we should be a kind of (G)firstfruits of his creatures.
Hearing and Doing the Word
19 (H)Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person (I)be quick to hear, (J)slow to speak, (K)slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore (L)put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with (M)meekness the implanted word, (N)which is able to save your souls.
22 But be (O)doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, (P)the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, (Q)he will be blessed in his doing.
26 If anyone thinks he is religious (R)and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's (S)religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: (T)to visit (U)orphans and widows in their affliction, and (V)to keep oneself (W)unstained from the world.
Traditions and Commandments
7 (A)Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes (B)who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were (C)defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly,[a] holding to (D)the tradition of (E)the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.[b] And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as (F)the washing of (G)cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.[c]) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to (H)the tradition of (I)the elders, (J)but eat with (K)defiled hands?” 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you (L)hypocrites, as it is written,
(M)“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
7 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as (N)doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.