Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Institution of the Passover
12 [a] The Lord said[b] to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,[c] 2 “This month is to be your beginning of months; it will be your first month of the year.[d] 3 Tell the whole community of Israel, ‘On the tenth day of this month they each[e] must take a lamb[f] for themselves according to their families[g]—a lamb for each household.[h] 4 If any household is too small[i] for a lamb,[j] the man[k] and his next-door neighbor[l] are to take[m] a lamb according to the number of people—you will make your count for the lamb according to how much each one can eat.[n] 5 Your lamb must be[o] perfect,[p] a male, one year old;[q] you may take[r] it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 You must care for it[s] until the fourteenth day of this month, and then the whole community[t] of Israel will kill it around sundown.[u] 7 They will take some of the blood and put it on the two side posts and top of the doorframe of the houses where they will eat it. 8 They will eat the meat the same night;[v] they will eat it roasted over the fire with bread made without yeast[w] and with bitter herbs. 9 Do not eat it raw[x] or boiled in water, but roast it over the fire with its head, its legs, and its entrails. 10 You must leave nothing until morning, but you must burn with fire whatever remains of it until morning. 11 This is how you are to eat it—dressed to travel,[y] your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.[z]
12 ‘I will pass through[aa] the land of Egypt in the same[ab] night, and I will attack[ac] all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of humans and of animals,[ad] and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment.[ae] I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, so that when I see[af] the blood I will pass over you,[ag] and this plague[ah] will not fall on you to destroy you[ai] when I attack[aj] the land of Egypt.[ak]
14 ‘This day will become[al] a memorial[am] for you, and you will celebrate it as a festival[an] to the Lord—you will celebrate it perpetually as a lasting ordinance.[ao]
Psalm 149[a]
149 Praise the Lord.
Sing to the Lord a new song.
Praise him in the assembly of the godly.[b]
2 Let Israel rejoice in their Creator.
Let the people[c] of Zion delight in their King.[d]
3 Let them praise his name with dancing.
Let them sing praises to him to the accompaniment of the tambourine and harp.
4 For the Lord takes delight in his people;
he exalts the oppressed by delivering them.[e]
5 Let the godly rejoice because of their vindication.[f]
Let them shout for joy upon their beds.[g]
6 May the praises of God be in their mouths
and a two-edged sword in their hands,
7 in order to take[h] revenge on the nations,
and punish foreigners.
8 The godly bind[i] their enemies’ kings in chains,
and their nobles in iron shackles,
9 and execute the judgment to which their enemies[j] have been sentenced.[k]
All his loyal followers will be vindicated.[l]
Praise the Lord.
Exhortation to Love Neighbors
8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments,[a] “Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not covet,”[b] (and if there is any other commandment) are summed up in this, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[c] 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Motivation to Godly Conduct
11 And do this[d] because we know[e] the time, that it is already the hour for us to awake from sleep, for our salvation is now nearer than when we became believers. 12 The night has advanced toward dawn; the day is near. So then we must lay aside the works of darkness, and put on the weapons of light. 13 Let us live decently as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in discord and jealousy. 14 Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to arouse its desires.[f]
Restoring Christian Relationships
15 “If[a] your brother[b] sins,[c] go and show him his fault[d] when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established.[e] 17 If[f] he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If[g] he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like[h] a Gentile[i] or a tax collector.[j]
18 “I tell you the truth,[k] whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven. 19 Again, I tell you the truth,[l] if two of you on earth agree about whatever you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.[m] 20 For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them.”
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.