Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Wickedness of Men and Lovingkindness of God.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord.
36 Transgression speaks to the ungodly within [a]his heart;
There is (A)no fear of God before his eyes.
2 For [b]it (B)flatters him in his own eyes
Concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it.
3 The (C)words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;
He has (D)ceased to [c]be wise and to do good.
4 He (E)plans wickedness upon his bed;
He sets himself on a (F)path that is not good;
He (G)does not despise evil.
5 Your (H)lovingkindness, O Lord, [d]extends to the heavens,
Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
6 Your (I)righteousness is like the [e]mountains of God;
Your (J)judgments are like a great deep.
O Lord, You (K)preserve man and beast.
7 How (L)precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
And the children of men (M)take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
8 They (N)drink their fill of the [f]abundance of Your house;
And You give them to drink of the (O)river of Your delights.
9 For with You is the (P)fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.
The Return to Egypt
43 (A)Now the famine was severe in the land. 2 So it came about when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.” 3 Judah spoke to him, however, saying, “(B)The man solemnly warned [a]us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 5 But if you do not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’” 6 Then Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly [b]by telling the man whether you still had another brother?” 7 But they said, “The man questioned particularly about us and our relatives, saying, ‘(C)Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ So we [c]answered his questions. Could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” 8 Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the lad with me and we will arise and go, (D)that we may live and not die, we as well as you and our little ones. 9 (E)I myself will be surety for him; [d]you may hold me responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then [e]let me bear the blame before you forever. 10 For if we had not delayed, surely by now we could have returned twice.”
11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best products of the land in your [f]bags, and carry down to the man (F)as a present, a little [g](G)balm and a little honey, [h]aromatic gum and [i]myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 Take double the money in your hand, and take back in your hand (H)the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was a mistake. 13 Take your brother also, and arise, return to the man; 14 and may [j](I)God Almighty (J)grant you compassion in the sight of the man, so that he will release to you (K)your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, (L)if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.” 15 So the men took (M)this present, and they took double the money in their hand, and Benjamin; then they arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
Choosing of the Seven
6 Now [a]at this time while the (A)disciples were (B)increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the [b](C)Hellenistic Jews against the native (D)Hebrews, because their (E)widows were being overlooked in (F)the daily serving of food. 2 So the twelve summoned the [c]congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. 3 Therefore, (G)brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, (H)full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. 4 But we will (I)devote ourselves to prayer and to the [d]ministry of the word.” 5 The statement found approval with the whole [e]congregation; and they chose (J)Stephen, a man (K)full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and (L)Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and [f]Nicolas, a [g](M)proselyte from (N)Antioch. 6 And these they brought before the apostles; and after (O)praying, they (P)laid their hands on them.
7 (Q)The word of God kept on spreading; and (R)the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to (S)the faith.
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