Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
41 Let your blessings reach me, O Lord.
Save me as you promised.
42 Then I will have an answer for the one who insults me
since I trust your word.
43 Do not take so much as a single word of truth from my mouth.
My hope is based on your regulations.
44 I will follow your teachings forever and ever.
45 I will walk around freely
because I sought out your guiding principles.
46 I will speak about your written instructions in the presence of kings
and not feel ashamed.
47 Your commandments, which I love, make me happy.
48 I lift my hands ⌞in prayer⌟ because of your commandments,
which I love.
I will reflect on your laws.
Moses Returns to the People
29 Moses came down from Mount Sinai, carrying the two tablets with God’s words on them. His face was shining from speaking with the Lord, but he didn’t know it.
30 When Aaron and all the Israelites looked at Moses and saw his face shining, they were afraid to come near him. 31 Moses called to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him. Then Moses spoke to them. 32 After that, all the other Israelites came near him, and he commanded them to do everything the Lord told him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever Moses went into the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he took off the veil until he came out. Whenever he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they would see that Moses’ face was shining. Then Moses would put the veil back on until he went in again to speak with the Lord.
We Show Our Faith by What We Do
14 My brothers and sisters, what good does it do if someone claims to have faith but doesn’t do any good things? Can this kind of faith save him? 15 Suppose a believer, whether a man or a woman, needs clothes or food 16 and one of you tells that person, “God be with you! Stay warm, and make sure you eat enough.” If you don’t provide for that person’s physical needs, what good does it do? 17 In the same way, faith by itself is dead if it doesn’t cause you to do any good things.
18 Another person might say, “You have faith, but I do good things.” Show me your faith apart from the good things you do. I will show you my faith by the good things I do. 19 You believe that there is one God. That’s fine! The demons also believe that, and they tremble with fear.
20 You fool! Do you have to be shown that faith which does nothing is useless? 21 Didn’t our ancestor Abraham receive God’s approval as a result of what he did when he offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice on the altar? 22 You see that Abraham’s faith and what he did worked together. His faith was shown to be genuine by what he did. 23 The Scripture passage came true. It says, “Abraham believed God, and that faith was regarded as the basis of Abraham’s approval by God.” So Abraham was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person receives God’s approval because of what he does, not only because of what he believes. 25 The same is true of the prostitute Rahab who welcomed the spies and sent them away on another road. She received God’s approval because of what she did.
26 A body that doesn’t breathe [a] is dead. In the same way faith that does nothing is dead.
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