Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 43^[a]

Breaking Covenant Through Blemished Sacrifices

⁶ “A son honors his father,^(A) and a slave his master.^(B) If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect^(C) due me?” says the Lord Almighty.^(D)

“It is you priests who show contempt for my name.

“But you ask,^(E) ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’

⁷ “By offering defiled food^(F) on my altar.

“But you ask,^(G) ‘How have we defiled you?’

“By saying that the Lord’s table^(H) is contemptible. ⁸ When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals,^(I) is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased^(J) with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty.^(K)

⁹ “Now plead with God to be gracious to us. With such offerings^(L) from your hands, will he accept^(M) you?”—says the Lord Almighty.

¹⁰ “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors,^(N) so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased^(O) with you,” says the Lord Almighty, “and I will accept^(P) no offering^(Q) from your hands. ¹¹ My name will be great^(R) among the nations,^(S) from where the sun rises to where it sets.^(T) In every place incense^(U) and pure offerings^(V) will be brought to me, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord Almighty.

¹² “But you profane it by saying, ‘The Lord’s table^(W) is defiled,’ and, ‘Its food^(X) is contemptible.’ ¹³ And you say, ‘What a burden!’^(Y) and you sniff at it contemptuously,^(Z)” says the Lord Almighty.

“When you bring injured, lame or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices,^(AA) should I accept them from your hands?”^(AB) says the Lord. ¹⁴ “Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal^(AC) to the Lord. For I am a great king,^(AD)” says the Lord Almighty,^(AE) “and my name is to be feared^(AF) among the nations.^(AG)

Additional Warning to the Priests

2 “And now, you priests, this warning is for you.^{(AH) 2} If you do not listen,^(AI) and if you do not resolve to honor^(AJ) my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse^(AK) on you, and I will curse your blessings.^(AL) Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me.

³ “Because of you I will rebuke your descendants^[a]; I will smear on your faces the dung^(AM) from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it.^{(AN) 4} And you will know that I have sent you this warning so that my covenant with Levi^(AO) may continue,” says the Lord Almighty. ⁵ “My covenant was with him, a covenant^(AP) of life and peace,^(AQ) and I gave them to him; this called for reverence^(AR) and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. ⁶ True instruction^(AS) was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked^(AT) with me in peace^(AU) and uprightness,^(AV) and turned many from sin.^(AW)

⁷ “For the lips of a priest^(AX) ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger^(AY) of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth.^{(AZ) 8} But you have turned from the way^(BA) and by your teaching have caused many to stumble;^(BB) you have violated the covenant^(BC) with Levi,”^(BD) says the Lord Almighty. ⁹ “So I have caused you to be despised^(BE) and humiliated^(BF) before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality^(BG) in matters of the law.”^(BH)

Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees

¹³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!^(A) You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.^{(B) [14] [a]}

¹⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert,^(C) and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell^(D) as you are.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides!^(E) You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’^{(F) 17} You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?^{(G) 18} You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ ¹⁹ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?^{(H) 20} Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹ And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells^(I) in it. ²² And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.^(J)

²³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth^(K) of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness.^(L) You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. ²⁴ You blind guides!^(M) You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

²⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish,^(N) but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.^{(O) 26} Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

²⁷ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs,^(P) which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.