Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Beth
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By (A)keeping it according to Your word.
10 With (B)all my heart I have sought You;
Do not let me (C)wander from Your commandments.
11 I have (D)treasured Your word in my heart,
So that I may not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, Lord;
(E)Teach me Your statutes.
13 With my lips I have (F)told of
All the (G)ordinances of Your mouth.
14 I have (H)rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
[a]As much as in all riches.
15 I will (I)meditate on Your precepts
And [b]regard (J)Your ways.
16 I shall [c](K)delight in Your statutes;
I will (L)not forget Your word.
21 “(A)When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for the Lord your God will certainly require it of you, and it will be a sin [a]for you. 22 However, if you refrain from making vows, it will not be a sin [b]for you. 23 You shall be careful and perform what goes out of your lips, since in fact you have vowed a [c]voluntary offering to the Lord your God, whatever you have [d]promised.
24 “When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat grapes [e]until you are satisfied; but you are not to put any in your [f]basket.
25 “(B)When you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you are not to [g]use a sickle on your neighbor’s standing grain.
Law of Divorce
24 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens, if she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some (C)indecency in her, that (D)he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and [h]sends her away from his house, 2 and she leaves his house and goes and becomes another man’s wife, 3 and the latter husband [i]turns against her, writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand, and [j]sends her away from his house, or if the latter husband who took her to be his wife dies, 4 then her (E)former husband who [k]sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife, after [l]she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the Lord, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
10 “(A)When you make your neighbor a loan of any kind, you shall not enter his house to take his pledge. 11 You shall stand outside, and the person to whom you are making the loan shall bring the pledge outside to you. 12 And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge. 13 (B)When the sun goes down you shall certainly return the pledge to him, so that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you; and (C)it will be righteousness for you before the Lord your God.
14 “(D)You shall not exploit a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your strangers who are in your land in your [a]towns. 15 (E)You shall give him his wages on his day [b]before the sun sets—for he is poor and sets his [c]heart on it—so that (F)he does not cry out against you to the Lord, and it becomes a sin in you.
The Sin of Partiality
2 (A)My brothers and sisters, (B)do not hold your faith in our (C)glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of (D)personal favoritism. 2 For if a man comes into your [a]assembly with a gold ring and is dressed in (E)bright clothes, and a poor man in (F)dirty clothes also comes in, 3 and you [b]pay special attention to the one who is wearing the (G)bright clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges (H)with evil [c]motives? 5 Listen, (I)my beloved brothers and sisters: did (J)God not choose the poor [d]of this world to be (K)rich in faith and (L)heirs of the kingdom which He (M)promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and [e]personally (N)drag you into [f]court? 7 (O)Do they not blaspheme the good name [g]by which you have been called?
8 If, however, you (P)are fulfilling the [h]royal law according to the Scripture, “(Q)You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you (R)show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the Law as violators. 10 For whoever keeps the whole Law, yet (S)stumbles in one point, has become (T)guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “(U)Do not commit adultery,” also said, “(V)Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do murder, you have become a violator of the Law. 12 So speak, and so act, as those who are to be judged by (W)the law of freedom. 13 For (X)judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy [i]triumphs over judgment.
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