Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
BOOK ONE
Psalms 1–41
The Way of the Righteous and the End of the Ungodly
1 Blessed (A)is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the [a]ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
(B)Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But (C)his delight is in the law of the Lord,
(D)And in His law he [b]meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree
(E)Planted by the [c]rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall (F)prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so,
But are (G)like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For (H)the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Blessings of Obedience(A)
12 “Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. 13 And He will (B)love you and bless you and [a]multiply you; (C)He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He [b]swore to your fathers to give you. 14 You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or female (D)barren among you or among your livestock. 15 And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the (E)terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you. 16 Also you shall [c]destroy all the peoples whom the Lord your God delivers over to you; your eye shall have no pity on them; nor shall you serve their gods, for that will (F)be a snare to you.
17 “If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?’— 18 you shall not be afraid of them, but you shall (G)remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: 19 (H)the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs and the wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out. So shall the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. 20 (I)Moreover the Lord your God will send the hornet among them until those who are left, who hide themselves from you, are destroyed. 21 You shall not be terrified of them; for the Lord your God, the great and awesome God, is among you. 22 And the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you (J)little by little; you will be unable to [d]destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. 23 But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, and will inflict defeat upon them until they are destroyed. 24 And (K)He will deliver their kings into your hand, and you will destroy their name from under heaven; (L)no one shall be able to stand [e]against you until you have destroyed them. 25 You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire; you shall not (M)covet[f] the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to the Lord your God. 26 Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, (N)for it is an [g]accursed thing.
Final Greetings(A)
7 (B)Tychicus, a beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. 8 (C)I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that [a]he may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts, 9 with (D)Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you all things which are happening here.
10 (E)Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with (F)Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision; they have proved to be a comfort to me.
12 (G)Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always (H)laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand (I)perfect and [b]complete in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him witness that he has a great [c]zeal for you, and those who are in Laodicea, and those in Hierapolis. 14 (J)Luke the beloved physician and (K)Demas greet you. 15 Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and [d]Nymphas and (L)the church that is in [e]his house.
Closing Exhortations and Blessing
16 Now when (M)this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. 17 And say to (N)Archippus, “Take heed to (O)the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.