Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
81 Sing aloud unto God our strength; make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
2 Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.
3 Blow the trumpet in the new moon, at the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.
4 For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.
5 This He ordained in Joseph as a testimony, when He went out through the land of Egypt, where I heard a language that I understood not:
6 “I removed his shoulder from the burden; his hands were delivered from the pots.
7 Thou called in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder. I tested thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah
8 Hear, O My people, and I will testify unto thee, O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto Me!
9 There shall be no strange god among thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.
10 I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt. Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 “But My people would not hearken to My voice, and Israel would have none of Me.
12 So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust, and they walked in their own counsels.
13 Oh that My people had hearkened unto Me, and Israel had walked in My ways!
14 I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned My and against their adversaries.”
15 The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto Him, but their time should have endured for ever.
16 He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat, and, “With honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.”
24 And Abraham was old and well stricken in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.
2 And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh;
3 and I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell.
4 But thou shalt go unto my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”
5 And the servant said unto him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land. Must I bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?”
6 And Abraham said unto him, “Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.
7 The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke unto me and who swore unto me, saying, ‘Unto thy seed will I give this land,’ He shall send His angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife for my son from thence.
8 And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath; only bring not my son thither again.”
9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning that matter.
10 And the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master and departed, for all the goods of his master were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.
11 And he made his camels to kneel down outside the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.
12 And he said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray Thee, send me good speed this day, and show kindness unto my master Abraham.
13 Behold, I stand here by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water.
14 And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, ‘Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink,’ and she shall say, ‘Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also’ — let the same be she whom Thou hast appointed for Thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that Thou hast shown kindness unto my master.”
15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.
16 And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her; and she went down to the well and filled her pitcher and came up.
17 And the servant ran to meet her and said, “Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water from thy pitcher.”
18 And she said, “Drink, my lord”; and she hastened and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.
19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, “I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.”
20 And she hastened and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.
21 And the man, wondering at her, held his peace to learn whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.
22 And it came to pass, as the camels were done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold,
23 and said, “Whose daughter art thou? Tell me, I pray thee, is there room in thy father’s house for us to lodge in?”
24 And she said unto him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore unto Nahor.”
25 She said moreover unto him, “We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.”
26 And the man bowed down his head, and worshiped the Lord.
27 And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master from His mercy and His truth. I, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.”
1 The Elder, Unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not I only, but also all those who have known the truth,
2 for the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us and shall be with us for ever:
3 Grace, mercy, and peace be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
4 I rejoiced greatly that I have found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.
5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning: that we love one another.
6 And this is love: that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
7 For many deceivers have entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we may receive a full reward.
9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ hath both the Father and the Son.
10 If there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed;
11 for he that biddeth him Godspeed is a partaker of his evil deeds.
12 Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink; but I trust to come unto you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.
13 The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen.
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