Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
First Book—Psalms 1–41
Psalm 1[a]
True Happiness in God’s Law
I
1 Blessed is the man who does not walk
in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the way[b] of sinners,
nor sit in company with scoffers.(A)
2 Rather, the law of the Lord[c] is his joy;
and on his law he meditates day and night.(B)
3 He is like a tree(C)
planted near streams of water,
that yields its fruit in season;
Its leaves never wither;
whatever he does prospers.
II
Blessings of Obedience. 12 (A)As your reward for heeding these ordinances and keeping them carefully, the Lord, your God, will keep with you the covenant mercy he promised on oath to your ancestors. 13 He will love and bless and multiply you; he will bless the fruit of your womb and the produce of your soil, your grain and wine and oil, the young of your herds and the offspring of your flocks, in the land which he swore to your ancestors he would give you. 14 You will be blessed above all peoples; no man or woman among you shall be childless nor shall your livestock be barren. 15 The Lord will remove all sickness from you; he will not afflict you with any of the malignant diseases that you know from Egypt, but will leave them with all those who hate you.
16 You shall consume all the peoples which the Lord, your God, is giving over to you. You are not to look on them with pity, nor serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.(B) 17 (C)If you say to yourselves, “These nations are more numerous than we. How can we dispossess them?” 18 do not be afraid of them. Rather, remember clearly what the Lord, your God, did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: 19 the great testings which your own eyes have seen, the signs and wonders, the strong hand and outstretched arm with which the Lord, your God, brought you out. The same also will he do to all the peoples of whom you are now afraid. 20 Moreover, the Lord, your God, will send hornets among them, until those who are left and those who are hiding from you are destroyed.(D) 21 Therefore, do not be terrified by them, for the Lord, your God, who is in your midst, is a great and awesome God. 22 He will remove these nations before you little by little. You cannot finish with them quickly, lest the wild beasts become too numerous for you.(E) 23 The Lord, your God, will give them over to you and throw them into utter panic until they are destroyed.(F) 24 He will deliver their kings into your power, that you may make their names perish from under the heavens. No one will be able to stand up against you,(G) till you have destroyed them. 25 (H)The images of their gods you shall destroy by fire. Do not covet the silver or gold on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be ensnared by it; for it is an abomination to the Lord, your God.(I) 26 You shall not bring any abominable thing into your house, so as to be, like it, under the ban; loathe and abhor it utterly for it is under the ban.[a]
V. Conclusion[a]
Tychicus and Onesimus. 7 Tychicus,[b] my beloved brother, trustworthy minister, and fellow slave in the Lord, will tell you all the news of me.(A) 8 I am sending him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know about us and that he may encourage your hearts, 9 together with Onesimus, a trustworthy and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here.(B)
From Paul’s Co-Workers. 10 Aristarchus,[c] my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, as does Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions; if he comes to you, receive him),(C) 11 and Jesus,[d] who is called Justus, who are of the circumcision; these alone are my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras[e] sends you greetings; he is one of you, a slave of Christ [Jesus], always striving for you in his prayers so that you may be perfect and fully assured in all the will of God.(D) 13 For I can testify that he works very hard for you and for those in Laodicea[f] and those in Hierapolis. 14 Luke[g] the beloved physician sends greetings, as does Demas.(E)
A Message for the Laodiceans. 15 Give greetings to the brothers in Laodicea and to Nympha and to the church in her house.[h] 16 And when this letter is read before you, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and you yourselves read the one from Laodicea.[i] 17 And tell Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry[j] that you received in the Lord.”(F)
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.