Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
7 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman(A) for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.(B) 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,(C)’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for[a] their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.(D) 9 But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so,(E) they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.(F)
10 “Son of man, say to the Israelites, ‘This is what you are saying: “Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away(G) because of[b] them. How then can we live?(H)”’ 11 Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.(I) Turn!(J) Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’(K)
ה He
33 Teach me,(A) Lord, the way of your decrees,
that I may follow it to the end.[a]
34 Give me understanding,(B) so that I may keep your law(C)
and obey it with all my heart.(D)
35 Direct me(E) in the path of your commands,(F)
for there I find delight.(G)
36 Turn my heart(H) toward your statutes
and not toward selfish gain.(I)
37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
preserve my life(J) according to your word.[b](K)
38 Fulfill your promise(L) to your servant,
so that you may be feared.
39 Take away the disgrace(M) I dread,
for your laws are good.
40 How I long(N) for your precepts!
In your righteousness preserve my life.(O)
Love Fulfills the Law
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.(A) 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”[a](B) and whatever other command there may be, are summed up(C) in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b](D) 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.(E)
The Day Is Near
11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come(F) for you to wake up from your slumber,(G) because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.(H) So let us put aside the deeds of darkness(I) and put on the armor(J) of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness,(K) not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.(L) 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ,(M) and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.[c](N)
Dealing With Sin in the Church
15 “If your brother or sister[a] sins,[b] go and point out their fault,(A) just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’[c](B) 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church;(C) and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.(D)
18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be[d] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[e] loosed in heaven.(E)
19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them(F) by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”(G)
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