Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
8 Listen! My love is approaching.
Look! Here he comes,
leaping over the mountains,(A)
bounding over the hills.
9 My love is like a gazelle
or a young stag.(B)
Look, he is standing behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattice.
10 My love calls to me:
M Arise,(C) my darling.
Come away, my beautiful one.
11 For now the winter is past;
the rain has ended and gone away.
12 The blossoms appear in the countryside.
The time of singing[a] has come,
and the turtledove’s cooing is heard in our land.(D)
13 The fig tree ripens its figs;(E)
the blossoming vines give off their fragrance.(F)
Arise, my darling.
Come away, my beautiful one.
Psalm 45
A Royal Wedding Song
For the choir director: according to “The Lilies.”[a] A Maskil of the sons of Korah. A love song.
6 Your throne,(A) God, is[a] forever and ever;
the scepter of Your[b] kingdom is a scepter of justice.(B)
7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness;(C)
therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy
more than your companions.
8 Myrrh, aloes, and cassia perfume all your garments;
from ivory palaces harps bring you joy.(D)
9 Kings’ daughters are among your honored women;(E)
the queen, adorned with gold from Ophir,
stands at your right hand.(F)
17 Every generous act and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights; with Him there is no variation or shadow cast by turning.(A) 18 By His own choice, He gave us a new birth by the message of truth[a] so that we would be the firstfruits of His creatures.(B)
Hearing and Doing the Word
19 My dearly loved brothers, understand this: Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger,(C) 20 for man’s anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. 21 Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and evil,[b] humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save you.[c](D)
22 But(E) be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face[d] in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but one who does good works—this person will be blessed in what he does.(F)
26 If anyone[e] thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue,(G) then his religion is useless and he deceives himself. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before our[f] God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows(H) in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.(I)
The Traditions of the Elders
7 The(A) Pharisees(B) and some of the scribes(C) who had come from Jerusalem(D) gathered around Him. 2 They observed that some of His disciples were eating their bread with unclean(E)—that is, unwashed—hands. 3 (For the Pharisees, in fact all the Jews, will not eat unless they wash their hands ritually, keeping the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace,(F) they do not eat unless they have washed.(G) And there are many other customs they have received and keep, like the washing of cups, jugs, copper utensils, and dining couches.[a](H)) 5 Then the Pharisees(I) and the scribes(J) asked Him, “Why don’t Your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders,(K) instead of eating bread with ritually unclean[b] hands?”
6 He answered them, “Isaiah(L) prophesied(M) correctly about you hypocrites,(N) as it is written:(O)
These people honor(P) Me with their lips,
but their heart is far from Me.
7 They worship Me in vain,
teaching(Q) as doctrines(R) the commands(S) of men.(T)[c]
8 Disregarding the command of God, you keep the tradition of men.”[d]
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