Old/New Testament
Psalm 100[a]
Processional Hymn
1 A psalm of thanksgiving.
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all you lands;
2 serve the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
3 [b]Know that the Lord is God,
he made us, we belong to him,
we are his people, the flock he shepherds.(A)
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him, bless his name;(B)
5 good indeed is the Lord,
His mercy endures forever,
his faithfulness lasts through every generation.
Psalm 101[c]
Norm of Life for Rulers
1 A psalm of David.
I
I sing of mercy and justice;
to you, Lord, I sing praise.
2 I study the way of integrity;(C)
when will you come to me?
I act with integrity of heart
within my household.[d](D)
3 I do not allow into my presence anything base.
I hate wrongdoing;
I will have no part of it.(E)
4 May the devious heart keep far from me;
the wicked I will not acknowledge.
5 Whoever slanders a neighbor in secret
I will reduce to silence.(F)
Haughty eyes and arrogant hearts(G)
I cannot endure.
II
6 I look to the faithful of the land[e]
to sit at my side.
Whoever follows the way of integrity(H)
is the one to enter my service.
7 No one who practices deceit
can remain within my house.
No one who speaks falsely
can last in my presence.(I)
8 [f]Morning after morning I clear all the wicked from the land,
to rid the city of the Lord of all doers of evil.
Psalm 102[g]
Prayer in Time of Distress
1 The prayer of one afflicted and wasting away whose anguish is poured out before the Lord.
I
2 Lord, hear my prayer;
let my cry come to you.
3 Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my distress.(J)
Turn your ear to me;
when I call, answer me quickly.
4 For my days vanish like smoke;(K)
my bones burn away as in a furnace.
5 My heart is withered, dried up like grass,
too wasted to eat my food.
6 From my loud groaning
I become just skin and bones.
7 I am like a desert owl,
like an owl among the ruins.
8 I lie awake and moan,
like a lone sparrow on the roof.
9 All day long my enemies taunt me;
in their rage, they make my name a curse.[h]
10 I eat ashes like bread,
mingle my drink with tears.(L)
11 Because of your furious wrath,
you lifted me up just to cast me down.
12 (M)My days are like a lengthening shadow;(N)
I wither like the grass.
II
13 But you, Lord, are enthroned forever;
your renown is for all generations.(O)
14 You will again show mercy to Zion;
now is the time for pity;
the appointed time has come.
15 Its stones are dear to your servants;
its dust moves them to pity.
16 The nations shall fear your name, Lord,
all the kings of the earth, your glory,(P)
17 Once the Lord has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in glory,
18 Heeding the plea of the lowly,
not scorning their prayer.
19 Let this be written for the next generation,
for a people not yet born,
that they may praise the Lord:(Q)
20 [i]“The Lord looked down from the holy heights,
viewed the earth from heaven,(R)
21 To attend to the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die.”(S)
22 Then the Lord’s name will be declared on Zion,
his praise in Jerusalem,
23 When peoples and kingdoms gather
to serve the Lord.(T)
III
24 He has shattered my strength in mid-course,
has cut short my days.
25 I plead, O my God,
do not take me in the midst of my days.[j](U)
Your years last through all generations.
26 Of old you laid the earth’s foundations;(V)
the heavens are the work of your hands.
27 They perish, but you remain;
they all wear out like a garment;
Like clothing you change them and they are changed,
28 but you are the same, your years have no end.
29 May the children of your servants live on;
may their descendants live in your presence.(W)
I. Address[a]
Chapter 1
Greeting. 1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,[b] and Sosthenes our brother,(A) 2 to the church of God that is in Corinth, to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.(B) 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving. 4 I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in him you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, 6 as the testimony[c] to Christ was confirmed among you, 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.(C) 8 He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus [Christ].(D) 9 God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.(E)
II. Disorders in the Corinthian Community
A. Divisions in the Church[d]
Groups and Slogans. 10 I urge you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose.(F) 11 For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers, by Chloe’s people, that there are rivalries among you. 12 I mean that each of you is saying, “I belong to[e] Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.”(G) 13 [f]Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I give thanks [to God] that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,(H) 15 so that no one can say you were baptized in my name. 16 (I baptized the household of Stephanas also; beyond that I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.)(I) 17 [g]For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence,[h] so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.(J)
Paradox of the Cross. 18 The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.(K) 19 For it is written:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the learning of the learned I will set aside.”(L)
20 Where is the wise one? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made the wisdom of the world foolish?(M) 21 [i]For since in the wisdom of God the world did not come to know God through wisdom, it was the will of God through the foolishness of the proclamation to save those who have faith. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,(N) 23 but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,(O) 24 but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
The Corinthians and Paul.[j] 26 Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong,(P) 28 and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, 29 so that no human being might boast[k] before God.(Q) 30 It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,(R) 31 so that, as it is written, “Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.”(S)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.