Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹⁵ Today I’m giving you a choice. You can have life and success. Or you can have death and harm. ¹⁶ I’m commanding you today to love the Lord your God. I’m commanding you to live exactly as he wants you to live. You must obey his commands, rules and laws. Then you will live. There will be many of you. The Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to take as your own.

¹⁷ Don’t let your hearts turn away from the Lord. Instead, obey him. Don’t let yourselves be drawn away to other gods. And don’t bow down to them and worship them. ¹⁸ If you do, I announce to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You are about to go across the Jordan River and take over the land. But you won’t live there very long.

¹⁹ I’m calling for the heavens and the earth to be witnesses against you this very day. I’m offering you the choice of life or death. You can choose either blessings or curses. But I want you to choose life. Then you and your children will live. ²⁰ And you will love the Lord your God. You will obey him. You will remain true to him. The Lord is your very life. He will give you many years in the land. He promised to give that land to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

א Aleph

The Church and Its Leaders

3 Brothers and sisters, I couldn’t speak to you as people who live by the Holy Spirit. I had to speak to you as people who were still following the ways of the world. You aren’t growing as Christ wants you to. You are still like babies. ² The words I spoke to you were like milk, not like solid food. You weren’t ready for solid food yet. And you still aren’t ready for it. ³ You are still following the ways of the world. Some of you are jealous. Some of you argue. So aren’t you following the ways of the world? Aren’t you acting like ordinary human beings? ⁴ One of you says, “I follow Paul.” Another says, “I follow Apollos.” Aren’t you acting like ordinary human beings?

⁵ After all, what is Apollos? And what is Paul? We are only people who serve. We helped you to believe. The Lord has given each of us our own work to do. ⁶ I planted the seed. Apollos watered it. But God has been making it grow. ⁷ So the one who plants is not important. The one who waters is not important. It is God who makes things grow. He is the important one. ⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters have the same purpose. The Lord will give each of them a reward for their work. ⁹ We work together to serve God. You are like God’s field. You are like his building.

Murder

²¹ “You have heard what was said to people who lived long ago. They were told, ‘Do not commit murder. (Exodus 20:13) Anyone who murders will be judged for it.’ ²² But here is what I tell you. Do not be angry with a brother or sister. Anyone who is angry with them will be judged. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ must stand trial in court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire in hell.

²³ “Suppose you are offering your gift at the altar. And you remember that your brother or sister has something against you. ²⁴ Leave your gift in front of the altar. First go and make peace with them. Then come back and offer your gift.

²⁵ “Suppose someone has a claim against you and is taking you to court. Settle the matter quickly. Do this while you are still together on the way. If you don’t, you may be handed over to the judge. The judge may hand you over to the officer to be thrown into prison. ²⁶ What I’m about to tell you is true. You will not get out until you have paid the very last penny!

Adultery

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ (Exodus 20:14) ²⁸ But here is what I tell you. Do not even look at a woman in the wrong way. Anyone who does has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, poke it out and throw it away. Your eye is only one part of your body. It is better to lose an eye than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰ If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. Your hand is only one part of your body. It is better to lose a hand than for your whole body to go into hell.

Divorce

³¹ “It has been said, ‘Suppose a man divorces his wife. If he does, he must give her a letter of divorce.’ (Deuteronomy 24:1) ³² But here is what I tell you. Anyone who divorces his wife makes her a victim of adultery. And anyone who gets married to the divorced woman commits adultery. A man may divorce his wife only if she has not been faithful to him.

Promises

³³ “Again, you have heard what was said to your people long ago. They were told, ‘Do not break the promises you make to the Lord. Keep your promises to the Lord that you have made.’ ³⁴ But here is what I tell you. Do not make any promises like that at all. Do not make them in the name of heaven. That is God’s throne. ³⁵ Do not make them in the name of the earth. That is the stool for God’s feet. Do not make them in the name of Jerusalem. That is the city of the Great King. ³⁶ And do not make a promise in your own name. You can’t make even one hair of your head white or black. ³⁷ All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’ Anything more than this comes from the evil one.