Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

מ Mem.

9 Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackcloth, and earth upon them. ² And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers. ³ And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of Jehovah their God a fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped Jehovah their God. ⁴ Then stood up upon the stairs of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto Jehovah their God.

⁵ Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless Jehovah your God from everlasting to everlasting; and ^[a]blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. ⁶ Thou art Jehovah, even thou alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all things that are thereon, the seas and all that is in them, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee. ⁷ Thou art ^[b]Jehovah the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham, ⁸ and foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite, and the Girgashite, to give it unto his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous.

⁹ And thou sawest the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red Sea, ¹⁰ and showedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land; for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them, and didst get thee a name, as it is this day. ¹¹ And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their pursuers thou didst cast into the depths, as a stone into the mighty waters. ¹² Moreover in a pillar of cloud thou leddest them by day; and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light in the way wherein they should go. ¹³ Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments, ¹⁴ and madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them commandments, and statutes, and a law, by Moses thy servant, ¹⁵ and gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and commandedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst ^[c]sworn to give them.

²¹ subjecting yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ.

²² Wives, be in subjection unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, being himself the saviour of the body. ²⁴ But as the church is subject to Christ, ^[a]so let the wives also be to their husbands in everything. ²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for it; ²⁶ that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the ^[b]washing of water with the word, ²⁷ that he might present the church to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. ²⁸ Even so ought husbands also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his own wife loveth himself: ²⁹ for no man ever hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as Christ also the church; ³⁰ because we are members of his body. ^31 [c]For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh. ³² This mystery is great: but I speak in regard of Christ and of the church. ³³ Nevertheless do ye also severally love each one his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see that she fear her husband.

6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. ^2 [d]Honor thy father and mother (which is the first commandment with promise), ³ that it may be well with thee, and thou ^[e]mayest live long on the ^[f]earth. ⁴ And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but nurture them in the chastening and admonition of the Lord.

^5 [g]Servants, be obedient unto them that according to the flesh are your ^[h]masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; ⁶ not in the way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers; but as ^[i]servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the ^[j]heart; ⁷ with good will doing service, as unto the Lord, and not unto men: ⁸ knowing that whatsoever good thing each one doeth, the same shall he receive again from the Lord, whether he be bond or free. ⁹ And, ye ^[k]masters, do the same things unto them, and forbear threatening: knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no respect of persons with him.