Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
15 “See, (A)I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, 18 (B)I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. 19 (C)I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that (D)I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20 that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your (E)life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
Meditations on the Excellencies of the Word of God
א ALEPH
119 Blessed are the [a]undefiled in the way,
(A)Who walk in the law of the Lord!
2 Blessed are those who keep His testimonies,
Who seek Him with the (B)whole heart!
3 (C)They also do no iniquity;
They walk in His ways.
4 You have commanded us
To keep Your precepts diligently.
5 Oh, that my ways were directed
To keep Your statutes!
6 (D)Then I would not be ashamed,
When I look into all Your commandments.
7 I will praise You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn Your righteous judgments.
8 I will keep Your statutes;
Oh, do not forsake me utterly!
Sectarianism Is Carnal
3 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to (A)babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with (B)milk and not with solid food; (C)for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and [a]behaving like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?
Watering, Working, Warning
5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but (D)ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6 (E)I planted, (F)Apollos watered, (G)but God gave the increase. 7 So then (H)neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, (I)and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
9 For (J)we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are (K)God’s building.
Murder Begins in the Heart(A)
21 “You have heard that it was said to those [a]of old, (B)‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that (C)whoever is angry with his brother [b]without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, (D)‘Raca!’[c] shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, [d]‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of [e]hell fire. 23 Therefore (E)if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 (F)leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 (G)Agree with your adversary quickly, (H)while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.
Adultery in the Heart
27 “You have heard that it was said [f]to those of old, (I)‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever (J)looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 (K)If your right eye causes you to [g]sin, (L)pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to [h]sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
Marriage Is Sacred and Binding(M)
31 “Furthermore it has been said, (N)‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that (O)whoever divorces his wife for any reason except [i]sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
Jesus Forbids Oaths
33 “Again you have heard that (P)it was said to those of [j]old, (Q)‘You shall not swear falsely, but (R)shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, (S)do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is (T)God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of (U)the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 (V)But let [k]your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.