Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Bless the Lord, O My Soul

Of David.

⁴⁴ “Behold, everyone ^(A)who uses proverbs will use this proverb about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ ⁴⁵ You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and her children; and you are the sister of ^(B)your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. ^(C)Your mother was a Hittite and ^(D)your father an Amorite. ⁴⁶ And ^(E)your elder sister is Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you; and ^(F)your younger sister, who lived to the south of you, is Sodom with her daughters. ^47 (G)Not only did you walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; within a very little time ^(H)you were more corrupt than they in all your ways. ^48 (I)As I live, declares the Lord God, your sister ^(J)Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. ⁴⁹ Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, ^(K)excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. ⁵⁰ They were haughty and ^(L)did an abomination before me. So ^(M)I removed them, when I saw it. ^51 (N)Samaria has not committed half your sins. You have committed more abominations than they, and ^(O)have made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominations that you have committed. ^52 (P)Bear your disgrace, you also, for you have intervened on behalf of your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.

Greeting

1 Simeon^[a] Peter, a servant^[b] and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have obtained ^(A)a faith of equal standing with ours ^(B)by the righteousness of our ^(C)God and Saviour Jesus Christ:

^2 (D)May grace and peace be multiplied to you ^(E)in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Make Your Calling and Election Sure

³ His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him ^(F)who called us to^[c] his own glory and excellence,^{[d] 4} by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become ^(G)partakers of the divine nature, ^(H)having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. ⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith ^(I)with virtue,^[e] and virtue ^(J)with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control ^(K)with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷ and godliness ^(L)with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection ^(M)with love. ⁸ For if these qualities^[f] are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or ^(N)unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ For whoever lacks these qualities is so short-sighted that he ^(O)is blind, having forgotten that he was ^(P)cleansed from his former sins. ¹⁰ Therefore, brothers,^[g] be all the more diligent to make your calling and ^(Q)election sure, for if you practise these qualities ^(R)you will never fall. ¹¹ For in this way there will be richly provided for you ^(S)an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.