Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The two paths[a]
1 If someone does not do what wicked people tell him to do,
if he does not join with sinners,
if he does not meet with those who laugh at God,
God has blessed that person!
2 He is happy when he obeys the Law of the Lord.[b]
He thinks about God's Law during the day and at night.
3 He will become like a tree that grows beside streams of water.
It gives its fruit at the right season.
Its leaves do not fall off.
Everything that person does will have a good result.
4 But wicked people are as empty as chaff.
The wind blows them away.[c]
5 So they will not go free when God judges them.
Sinners cannot join with God's people,
the people who are right with God.[d]
6 The Lord takes care of people who respect him.
But wicked people are living in a way that will take them to a bad end.
20 Leaders of Jerusalem, look up!
See the enemy that is coming from the north.
What has happened to your people?
You were proud of them
and you should have taken care of them.
You are like shepherds who have lost their sheep.
21 The Lord will choose other people to rule over you.
They are people that you wanted to be your friends,
but now they will have power over you.
So what will you say about that?
You will be afraid and in much pain,
like a woman who is giving birth to a baby.
22 You may ask,
“Why are these things happening to me?”
It is because of your many terrible sins.
Like an adulteress, they have torn off your dress
to make you ashamed.
23 You have done evil things for a long time.
So you cannot now start to do good things.
Can anyone change the colour of his skin?
Can a leopard remove the marks on its body?
No! And you cannot change yourselves either.’
24 The Lord says,
‘I will blow you away,
as a hot desert wind blows away straw.
25 That is how I have decided to punish you.
It is what you deserve
because you have forgotten me.
You have trusted in false gods.
26 So I will cause you to be very ashamed,
like a woman whose dress they have removed.
27 People of Jerusalem,
you are in terrible trouble!
I have seen the disgusting things that you do.
You are like a woman who has not been faithful to her husband.
Like a prostitute, you look for other gods to serve.
You cannot control yourselves,
as you do disgusting things on the hills and in the fields.
Will you never be clean and pure again?’[a]
17 God knows what each person has done, and he judges each one for those things. He is always fair when he decides about people. He is never kinder to one person than he is to another person. When you pray to God, you call him ‘Father’. So then, always respect him, while you live as strangers here in the world. 18 Your ancestors lived in a way that did not make them really happy. That is the way that you learned to live as well. But now God has saved you from that way of life. You know that he has bought you for himself. He did not buy you with things that do not continue for ever, like silver or gold. 19 Instead, he bought you with the very valuable blood of Christ, who died as a sacrifice for our sins.[a] He died like a lamb that is completely good and has nothing wrong with it.[b]
20 Before the world began, God had already chosen Christ. But now, during these last days of the world, God has shown Christ to people. God did that so that he could help you. 21 Yes, it is because of Christ that you now believe in God. God raised Christ, so that he became alive again after his death. He did that to show everyone that Christ is great. That is why you believe in God. You trust him that he will do good things for you.
22 You have obeyed God's true message. As a result, you have become clean inside, and now you can really love other believers. So continue to love each other very well, with honest thoughts. 23 You now have a new life! It is not like a human life that quickly comes to an end. It is a new life that will never spoil. You received it because you believed God's message. That message continues for ever and it does not change. 24 The Bible says:
‘All people are like grass.
They may seem beautiful for a short time,
like flowers that grow in the fields.
But grass soon becomes dry and it dies.
Flowers soon fall to the ground.
25 But the Lord God's message will continue for ever.’
That message is the good news about Jesus Christ, which people have taught you.
2 So you must refuse to do any evil things. Do not tell lies to deceive people. Do not be hypocrites. Do not be jealous of other people. Do not say bad things against other people.
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