Bible Reading Plan: Week 30
Week 30: K'doshim (Holy People)
LEVITICUS 19:1 - 20:27
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘You shall be holy; for I, Yahweh your God, am holy.
3 “ ‘Each one of you shall respect his mother and his father. You shall keep my Sabbaths. I am Yahweh your God.
4 “ ‘Don’t turn to idols, nor make molten gods for yourselves. I am Yahweh your God.
5 “ ‘When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to Yahweh, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted. 6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and on the next day. If anything remains until the third day, it shall be burned with fire. 7 If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination. It will not be accepted; 8 but everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the holy thing of Yahweh, and that soul shall be cut off from his people.
9 “ ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 You shall not glean your vineyard, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the foreigner. I am Yahweh your God.
11 “ ‘You shall not steal.
“ ‘You shall not lie.
“ ‘You shall not deceive one another.
12 “ ‘You shall not swear by my name falsely, and profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh.
13 “ ‘You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him.
“ ‘The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning.
14 “ ‘You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind; but you shall fear your God. I am Yahweh.
15 “ ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor show favoritism to the great; but you shall judge your neighbor in righteousness.
16 “ ‘You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people.
“ ‘You shall not endanger the life* of your neighbor. I am Yahweh.
17 “ ‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.
18 “ ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am Yahweh.
19 “ ‘You shall keep my statutes.
“ ‘You shall not cross-breed different kinds of animals.
“ ‘You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed;
“ ‘Don’t wear a garment made of two kinds of material.
20 “ ‘If a man lies carnally with a woman who is a slave girl, pledged to be married to another man, and not ransomed or given her freedom; they shall be punished. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free. 21 He shall bring his trespass offering to Yahweh, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, even a ram for a trespass offering. 22 The priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before Yahweh for his sin which he has committed; and the sin which he has committed shall be forgiven him.
23 “ ‘When you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as forbidden.† For three years it shall be forbidden to you. It shall not be eaten. 24 But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, for giving praise to Yahweh. 25 In the fifth year you shall eat its fruit, that it may yield its increase to you. I am Yahweh your God.
26 “ ‘You shall not eat any meat with the blood still in it. You shall not use enchantments, nor practice sorcery.
27 “ ‘You shall not cut the hair on the sides of your head or clip off the edge of your beard.
28 “ ‘You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you. I am Yahweh.
29 “ ‘Don’t profane your daughter, to make her a prostitute; lest the land fall to prostitution, and the land become full of wickedness.
30 “ ‘You shall keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary; I am Yahweh.
31 “ ‘Don’t turn to those who are mediums, nor to the wizards. Don’t seek them out, to be defiled by them. I am Yahweh your God.
32 “ ‘You shall rise up before the gray head and honor the face of the elderly; and you shall fear your God. I am Yahweh.
33 “ ‘If a stranger lives as a foreigner with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.
35 “ ‘You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length, of weight, or of quantity. 36 You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah,‡ and a just hin.§ I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
37 “ ‘You shall observe all my statutes and all my ordinances, and do them. I am Yahweh.’ ”
*19:16 literally, “blood”
†19:23 literally, “uncircumcised”
‡19:36 1 ephah is about 22 liters or about 2/3 of a bushel
§19:36 A hin is about 6.5 liters or 1.7 gallons.
CHAPTER 20
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Moreover, you shall tell the children of Israel, ‘Anyone of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners in Israel, who gives any of his offspring* to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone that person with stones. 3 I also will set my face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given of his offspring to Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. 4 If the people of the land all hide their eyes from that person when he gives of his offspring to Molech, and don’t put him to death, 5 then I will set my face against that man and against his family, and will cut him off, and all who play the prostitute after him to play the prostitute with Molech, from among their people.
6 “ ‘The person that turns to those who are mediums and wizards, to play the prostitute after them, I will even set my face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people.
7 “ ‘Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am Yahweh your God. 8 You shall keep my statutes, and do them. I am Yahweh who sanctifies you.
9 “ ‘For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother. His blood shall be upon himself.
10 “ ‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, even he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
11 “ ‘The man who lies with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both of them shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon themselves.
12 “ ‘If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death. They have committed a perversion. Their blood shall be upon themselves.
13 “ ‘If a man lies with a male, as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon themselves.
14 “ ‘If a man takes a wife and her mother, it is wickedness. They shall be burned with fire, both he and they, that there may be no wickedness among you.
15 “ ‘If a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death; and you shall kill the animal.
16 “ ‘If a woman approaches any animal and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.
17 “ ‘If a man takes his sister—his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter—and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a shameful thing. They shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness. He shall bear his iniquity.
18 “ ‘If a man lies with a woman having her monthly period, and uncovers her nakedness, he has made her fountain naked, and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from among their people.
19 “ ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, nor of your father’s sister, for he has made his close relative naked. They shall bear their iniquity. 20 If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness. They shall bear their sin. They shall die childless.
21 “ ‘If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is an impurity. He has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They shall be childless.
22 “ ‘You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my ordinances, and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to dwell may not vomit you out. 23 You shall not walk in the customs of the nation which I am casting out before you; for they did all these things, and therefore I abhorred them. 24 But I have said to you, “You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am Yahweh your God, who has separated you from the peoples.
25 “ ‘You shall therefore make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean fowl and the clean. You shall not make yourselves abominable by animal, or by bird, or by anything with which the ground teems, which I have separated from you as unclean for you. 26 You shall be holy to me, for I, Yahweh, am holy, and have set you apart from the peoples, that you should be mine.
27 “ ‘A man or a woman that is a medium or is a wizard shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones. Their blood shall be upon themselves.’ ”
*20:2 or, seed
AMOS 9: 7-15
7 Are you not like the children of the Ethiopians to me, children of Israel?” says Yahweh. “Haven’t I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? 8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord Yahweh are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the surface of the earth, except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” says Yahweh. 9 “For behold, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet not the least kernel will fall on the earth. 10 All the sinners of my people will die by the sword, who say, ‘Evil won’t overtake nor meet us.’ 11 In that day I will raise up the tent of David who is fallen and close up its breaches, and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old, 12 that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name,” says Yahweh who does this.
13 “Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh,
“that the plowman shall overtake the reaper,
and the one treading grapes him who sows seed;
and sweet wine will drip from the mountains,
and flow from the hills.
14 I will bring my people Israel back from captivity,
and they will rebuild the ruined cities, and inhabit them;
and they will plant vineyards, and drink wine from them.
They shall also make gardens,
and eat their fruit.
15 I will plant them on their land,
and they will no more be plucked up out of their land which I have given them,”
says Yahweh your God.
EZEKIEL 20: 2-20
2 Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, 3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and tell them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Is it to inquire of me that you have come? As I live,” says the Lord Yahweh, “I will not be inquired of by you.” ’
4 “Will you judge them, son of man? Will you judge them? Cause them to know the abominations of their fathers. 5 Tell them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “In the day when I chose Israel, and swore to the offspring of the house of Jacob, and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I swore to them, saying, ‘I am Yahweh your God;’ 6 in that day I swore to them to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands. 7 I said to them, ‘Each of you throw away the abominations of his eyes. Don’t defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.’
8 “ ‘ “But they rebelled against me and wouldn’t listen to me. They didn’t all throw away the abominations of their eyes. They also didn’t forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I said I would pour out my wrath on them, to accomplish my anger against them in the middle of the land of Egypt. 9 But I worked for my name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among which they were, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. 10 So I caused them to go out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. 11 I gave them my statutes and showed them my ordinances, which if a man does, he will live in them. 12 Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.
13 “ ‘ “But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They didn’t walk in my statutes and they rejected my ordinances, which if a man keeps, he shall live in them. They greatly profaned my Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out my wrath on them in the wilderness, to consume them. 14 But I worked for my name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I brought them out. 15 Moreover also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands, 16 because they rejected my ordinances, and didn’t walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols. 17 Nevertheless my eye spared them, and I didn’t destroy them. I didn’t make a full end of them in the wilderness. 18 I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Don’t walk in the statutes of your fathers. Don’t observe their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols. 19 I am Yahweh your God. Walk in my statutes, keep my ordinances, and do them. 20 Make my Sabbaths holy. They shall be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am Yahweh your God.’
MATTHEW 5: 33-37, 43-48 & 15: 1-11 & 19: 16-30 & 22: 33-40
33 “Again you have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,’ ✡ 34 but I tell you, don’t swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God; 35 nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Neither shall you swear by your head, for you can’t make one hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No.’ Whatever is more than these is of the evil one.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor ✡ and hate your enemy.’ ‡
44 But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? 47 If you only greet your friends, what more do you do than others? Don’t even the tax collectors § do the same? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
✡5:33 Numbers 30:2; Deuteronomy 23:21; Ecclesiastes 5:4
‡5:43 not in the Bible, but see Qumran Manual of Discipline Ix, 21-26
§5:47 NU reads “Gentiles” instead of “tax collectors”.
CHAPTER 15
1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat bread.”
3 He answered them, “Why do you also disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’✡ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’✡ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever may tell his father or his mother, “Whatever help you might otherwise have gotten from me is a gift devoted to God,” 6 he shall not honor his father or mother.’ You have made the commandment of God void because of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,
8 ‘These people draw near to me with their mouth,
and honor me with their lips;
but their heart is far from me.
9 And they worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrine rules made by men.’ ”✡
10 He summoned the multitude, and said to them, “Hear, and understand. 11 That which enters into the mouth doesn’t defile the man; but that which proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”
✡15:4 Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16
✡15:4 Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9
CHAPTER 19
16 Behold, one came to him and said, “Good teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?”
17 He said to him, “Why do you call me good?* No one is good but one, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
18 He said to him, “Which ones?”
Jesus said, “ ‘You shall not murder.’ ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ‘You shall not steal.’ ‘You shall not offer false testimony.’ 19 ‘Honor your father and your mother.’✡ And, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”✡
20 The young man said to him, “All these things I have observed from my youth. What do I still lack?”
21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he was one who had great possessions.
23 Jesus said to his disciples, “Most certainly I say to you, a rich man will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven with difficulty. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into God’s Kingdom.”
25 When the disciples heard it, they were exceedingly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
26 Looking at them, Jesus said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
27 Then Peter answered, “Behold, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?”
28 Jesus said to them, “Most certainly I tell you that you who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on the throne of his glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 Everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive one hundred times, and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many will be last who are first, and first who are last.
*19:17 So MT and TR. NU reads “Why do you ask me about what is good?”
✡19:19 Exodus 20:12-16; Deuteronomy 5:16-20
CHAPTER 22
33 When the multitudes heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.
34 But the Pharisees, when they heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, gathered themselves together. 35 One of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him. 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’✡ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’✡ 40 The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
MARK 7: 1-23 & 12: 28-34
1 Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered together to him, having come from Jerusalem. 2 Now when they saw some of his disciples eating bread with defiled, that is unwashed, hands, they found fault. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews don’t eat unless they wash their hands and forearms, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 They don’t eat when they come from the marketplace unless they bathe themselves, and there are many other things which they have received to hold to: washings of cups, pitchers, bronze vessels, and couches.) 5 The Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why don’t your disciples walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with unwashed hands?”
6 He answered them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,
‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me.
7 They worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’✡
8 “For you set aside the commandment of God, and hold tightly to the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and you do many other such things.” 9 He said to them, “Full well do you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother;’✡ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’✡ 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban,” ’ ”* that is to say, given to God, 12 “then you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother, 13 making void the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down. You do many things like this.”
14 He called all the multitude to himself and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. 15 There is nothing from outside of the man that going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man. 16 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”†
17 When he had entered into a house away from the multitude, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 He said to them, “Are you also without understanding? Don’t you perceive that whatever goes into the man from outside can’t defile him, 19 because it doesn’t go into his heart, but into his stomach, then into the latrine, making all foods clean?”‡ 20 He said, “That which proceeds out of the man, that defiles the man. 21 For from within, out of the hearts of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, sexual sins, murders, thefts, 22 covetings, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile the man.”
✡7:10 Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16
✡7:10 Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9
*7:11 Corban is a Hebrew word for an offering devoted to God.
†7:16 NU omits verse 16.
‡7:19 NU ends Jesus’ direct quote and question after “latrine”, ending the verse with “Thus he declared all foods clean.
CHAPTER 12
28 One of the scribes came and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the greatest of all?”
29 Jesus answered, “The greatest is: ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’✡ This is the first commandment. 31 The second is like this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’✡ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
32 The scribe said to him, “Truly, teacher, you have said well that he is one, and there is none other but he; 33 and to love him with all the heart, with all the understanding, all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from God’s Kingdom.”
No one dared ask him any question after that.
LUKE 10: 25-37
25 Behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind;✡ and your neighbor as yourself.”✡
28 He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.”
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus answered, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, 34 came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the host, and said to him, ‘Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.’ 36 Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?”
37 He said, “He who showed mercy on him.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
ROMANS 13: 8-10
8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” * “You shall not covet,” ✡ and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ✡ 10 Love doesn’t harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.
*13:9 TR adds “You shall not give false testimony,”
✡13:9 Exodus 20:13-15,17; Deuteronomy 5:17-19,21
GALATIANS 5: 13-26
13 For you, brothers, were called for freedom. Only don’t use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants to one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”✡ 15 But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you don’t consume one another.
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the deeds of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit God’s Kingdom.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith,* 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let’s also walk by the Spirit. 26 Let’s not become conceited, provoking one another, and envying one another.
*5:22 or, faithfulness
JAMES 2: 1-9
1 My brothers, don’t hold the faith of our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with partiality. 2 For if a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, comes into your synagogue,* and a poor man in filthy clothing also comes in, 3 and you pay special attention to him who wears the fine clothing and say, “Sit here in a good place;” and you tell the poor man, “Stand there,” or “Sit by my footstool” 4 haven’t you shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom which he promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Don’t the rich oppress you and personally drag you before the courts? 7 Don’t they blaspheme the honorable name by which you are called?
8 However, if you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,”✡ you do well. 9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors.
*2:2 or, meeting
1 PETER 1: 13-21
13 Therefore prepare your minds for action.† Be sober, and set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ— 14 as children of obedience, not conforming yourselves according to your former lusts as in your ignorance, 15 but just as he who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all of your behavior, 16 because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”✡
17 If you call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judges according to each man’s work, pass the time of your living as foreigners here in reverent fear, 18 knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things like silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your fathers, 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish or spot, the blood of Christ, 20 who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in this last age for your sake, 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope might be in God.
†1:13 literally, “gird up the waist of your mind” or “put on the belt of the waist of your mind”
