Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Passover

12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, ² “This month will be the very first month of the year for you. ³ Tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth ⌞day⌟ of this month each man must take a lamb or a young goat for his family—one animal per household. ⁴ A household may be too small to eat a whole animal. That household and the one next door can share one animal. Choose your animal based on the number of people and what each person can eat. ⁵ Your animal must be a one-year-old male that has no defects. You may choose a lamb or a young goat. ⁶ Take care of it until the fourteenth ⌞day⌟ of this month.

“Then at dusk, all the assembled people from the community of Israel must slaughter their animals. ⁷ They must take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they will eat the animals. ⁸ The meat must be eaten that same night. It must be roasted over a fire and eaten with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. ⁹ Don’t eat any of it raw or boiled but roast the whole animal over a fire. ¹⁰ Don’t leave any of it until morning. Anything left over in the morning must be burned up. ¹¹ This is how ⌞you should be dressed when⌟ you eat it: with your belt on, your sandals on your feet, and your shepherd’s staff in your hand. You must eat it in a hurry. It is the Lord’s Passover.

¹² “On that same night I will go throughout Egypt and kill every firstborn male, both human and animal. I will severely punish all the gods of Egypt, ⌞because⌟ I am the Lord. ¹³ But the blood on your houses will be a sign for your protection. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. Nothing will touch or destroy you when I strike Egypt.

¹⁴ “This day will be one for you to remember. This is a permanent law for generations to come: You will celebrate this day as a pilgrimage festival in the Lord’s honor.

Love One Another

⁸ Pay your debts as they come due. However, one debt you can never finish paying is the debt of love that you owe each other. The one who loves another person has fulfilled Moses’ Teachings. ⁹ The commandments, “Never commit adultery; never murder; never steal; never have wrong desires,” and every other commandment are summed up in this statement: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” ¹⁰ Love never does anything that is harmful to a neighbor. Therefore, love fulfills Moses’ Teachings.

¹¹ You know the times ⌞in which we are living⌟. It’s time for you to wake up. Our salvation is nearer now than when we first became believers. ¹² The night is almost over, and the day is near. So we should get rid of the things that belong to the dark and take up the weapons that belong to the light. ¹³ We should live decently, as people who live in the light of day. Wild parties, drunkenness, sexual immorality, promiscuity, rivalry, and jealousy cannot be part of our lives. ¹⁴ Instead, live like the Lord Jesus Christ did, and forget about satisfying the desires of your corrupt nature.

Dealing with Believers When They Do Wrong

¹⁵ “If a believer does something wrong,^[a] go, confront him when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have won back that believer. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you so that every accusation may be verified by two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If he ignores these witnesses, tell it to the community of believers. If he also ignores the community, deal with him as you would a heathen or a tax collector. ¹⁸ I can guarantee this truth: Whatever you imprison, God will imprison. And whatever you set free, God will set free.

¹⁹ “I can guarantee again that if two of you agree on anything here on earth, my Father in heaven will accept it. ²⁰ Where two or three have come together in my name, I am there among them.”