Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
15 Israel’s Choice. See, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil. 16 If you obey the command that I give you today, to love the Lord, your God, and to walk in his ways, and to observe his commandments, statutes, and decrees, then you will live and multiply, and the Lord, your God, will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess.
17 But if your hearts turn away so that you will not listen, and you are drawn away to worship other gods and to serve them, 18 then, as I swear to you today, you will surely perish. You will not live a long time in the land that you are crossing over the Jordan to enter and to possess.
19 I call upon the heavens and the earth to witness today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life, so that you and your descendants might live 20 loving the Lord, your God, obeying his voice, and holding on to him, for he is life and length of days to you, and so that you might dwell in the land that the Lord promised to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
15 If you choose, you can keep the commandments,
and to act faithfully is within your power.
16 He has set before you fire and water;
stretch out your hand for whichever you choose.
17 Before each man are life and death,
and whichever one he chooses will be given.
18 For great is the wisdom of the Lord;
he is mighty in power and all-seeing.
19 His eyes are on those who fear him,
and he is aware of every human action.
20 He has not commanded anyone to be wicked,
and he has given no one permission to sin.
1 [a]Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in accord with the law[b] of the Lord.
2 Blessed are those who observe his statutes
and seek him with their whole heart.[c]
3 They do nothing wrong;
they walk in his ways.[d]
4 [e]You have ordained
that your commands be diligently observed.
5 May my ways be steadfast
in the observance of your decrees.
6 Then I will never be put to shame
when I take note of all your precepts.
7 I will praise you in sincerity of heart
as I ponder your righteous judgments.
8 I will observe your decrees;
do not forsake me completely.
Beth
Chapter 3
You Are Still Infants in Christ. 1 Brethren, I could not talk to you as spiritual people, but as worldly, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, rather than with solid food that you were not ready to digest. Indeed, even now you are still not ready to receive it, 3 for you are still of the flesh.
As long as jealousy and rivalry continue among you, are you not of the flesh and acting as mere mortals? 4 Whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another asserts, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not acting in a merely human fashion?
Missionaries and Servants of Christ[a]
God’s Coworkers. 5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? We are only servants through whom you have come to believe, as the Lord assigned each to accomplish. 6 I planted the seed, and Apollos watered it, but God caused it to grow.
7 Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is of any importance but only God who causes the growth. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have a common end, and each will be rewarded in accordance with his labor. 9 For we are God’s coworkers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
21 Anger.[a]“You have heard that your ancestors were told: ‘You shall not kill, and anyone who kills will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I say this to you: Anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment, and whoever addresses his brother in an insulting way will answer for it before the Sanhedrin, and whoever calls his brother a fool will be liable to the fires of Gehenna.[b]
23 “Therefore, when offering your gift at the altar, if you should remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there at the altar and first go to be reconciled with your brother. Then return and offer your gift.
25 “Come to terms quickly with your opponent while you are on the way to court with him. If you fail to do so, he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge will put you in the custody of the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. 26 Believe the truth of what I tell you: you will not be given your freedom until you have paid your debt down to the last penny.[c]
27 Adultery.[d]“You have heard that it was said of old: ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that anyone who looks with lust at a woman has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is preferable for you to lose one part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is preferable for you to lose one of your limbs than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.
31 Divorce.“It has also been said: ‘Whoever divorces his wife shall give her a certificate of dismissal.’ 32 But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except if the marriage was unlawful, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
33 Oaths.[e]“Again, you have heard that our ancestors were told: ‘Do not swear falsely, but fulfill the vows you have made to the Lord.’ 34 But what I tell you is this: Do not swear at all, either by heaven, since it is God’s throne, 35 or by earth, since that is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, since that is the city of the great King. 36 Nor should you swear by your head, for you cannot turn one hair of it white or black. 37 All you need to do is to say ‘Yes’ if you mean ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ if you mean ‘No.’ Anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
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