Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is immense, and their sin is extremely serious. 21 I will go down(A) to see if what they have done justifies the cry that has come up to me. If not, I will find out.”
22 The men turned from there and went toward Sodom(B) while Abraham remained standing before the Lord.[a] 23 Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?(C) 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away instead of sparing the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people who are in it? 25 You could not possibly do such a thing: to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. You could not possibly do that! Won’t the Judge of the whole earth do what is just?” (D)
26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”(E)
27 Then Abraham answered, “Since I have ventured to speak to my lord—even though I am dust and ashes— 28 suppose the fifty righteous lack five. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?”
He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
29 Then he spoke to him again, “Suppose forty are found there?”
He answered, “I will not do it on account of forty.”
30 Then he said, “Let my lord not be angry, and I will speak further. Suppose thirty are found there?”
He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
31 Then he said, “Since I have ventured to speak to my lord, suppose twenty are found there?”
He replied, “I will not destroy it on account of twenty.”
32 Then he said, “Let my lord not be angry, and I will speak one more time.(F) Suppose ten are found there?”
He answered, “I will not destroy it on account of ten.”
Psalm 138
A Thankful Heart
Of David.
1 I will give you thanks with all my heart;(A)
I will sing your praise before the heavenly beings.[a](B)
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name
for your constant love and truth.
You have exalted your name
and your promise above everything else.[b](C)
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
you increased strength within me.[c](D)
6 So then, just as you have received(A) Christ Jesus as Lord,(B) continue to walk in him, 7 being rooted and built up in him(C) and established in the faith, just as you were taught,(D) and overflowing with gratitude.
8 Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition,(E) based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ.(F) 9 For the entire fullness(G) of God’s nature dwells bodily[a] in Christ, 10 and you have been filled by him, who is the head(H) over every ruler and authority. 11 You were also circumcised in him with a circumcision not done with hands, by putting off the body of flesh,(I) in the circumcision of Christ,(J) 12 when you were buried with him(K) in baptism, in which you were also raised with him(L) through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.(M) 13 And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him and forgave us all our trespasses. 14 He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.(N) 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him.[b](O)
16 Therefore, don’t let anyone judge(A) you in regard to food and drink(B) or in the matter of a festival or a new moon(C) or a Sabbath day.[a] 17 These are a shadow(D) of what was to come;(E) the substance is[b] Christ.(F) 18 Let no one condemn[c] you(G) by delighting in ascetic practices(H) and the worship of angels, claiming access to a visionary realm. Such people are inflated(I) by empty notions of their unspiritual[d] mind. 19 They don’t hold on to the head, from whom the whole body,(J) nourished and held together by its ligaments and tendons, grows with growth from God.
The Lord’s Prayer
11 He was praying(A) in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”(B)
2 He said to them, “Whenever you pray, say,(C)
Father,[a](D)
your name(E) be honored as holy.(F)
Your kingdom come.[b](G)
3 Give us each day our daily bread.[c](H)
4 And forgive us our sins,(I)
for we ourselves also forgive everyone
in debt to us.[d](J)
And do not bring us into temptation.”[e](K)
Ask, Search, Knock
5 He also said to them, “Suppose one of you[f] has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’ 7 Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s shameless boldness,[g] he will get up and give him as much as he needs.(L)
9 “So(M) I say to you, ask,(N) and it will be given to you. Seek,(O) and you will find. Knock,(P) and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son[h] asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil,(Q) know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father(R) give the Holy Spirit(S) to those who ask him?”
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