Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
To the director: On the gittith. One of Asaph’s songs.
81 Be happy and sing to God, our strength.
Shout with joy to the God of Jacob.
2 Begin the music.
Play the tambourines.
Play the pleasant harps and lyres.
3 Blow the ram’s horn at the time of the new moon[a]
and at the time of the full moon,[b] when our festival begins.
4 This is the law for the people of Israel.
The God of Jacob gave the command.
5 God made this agreement with Joseph’s people,
when he led them out of Egypt.
In a language we didn’t understand, God said,
6 “I took the load from your shoulder.
I let you drop the worker’s basket.
7 When you were in trouble, you called for help, and I set you free.
I was hidden in the storm clouds, and I answered you.
I tested you by the water at Meribah.[c]” Selah
8 “My people, I am warning you.
Israel, listen to me!
9 Don’t worship any of the false gods
that the foreigners worship.
10 I, the Lord, am your God.
I brought you out of Egypt.
Israel, open your mouth,
and I will feed you.
11 “But my people did not listen to me.
Israel did not obey me.
12 So I let them go their own stubborn way
and do whatever they wanted.
13 If my people would listen to me
and would live the way I want,
14 then I would defeat their enemies.
I would punish those who cause them trouble.
15 Those who hate the Lord would shake with fear.
They would be punished forever.
16 I would give the best wheat to my people.
I would give them the purest honey, until they were satisfied.”
A Wife for Isaac
24 Abraham lived to be a very old man. The Lord blessed him and everything he did. 2 Abraham’s oldest servant was in charge of everything he owned. Abraham called that servant to him and said, “Put your hand under my leg.[a] 3 Now I want you to make a promise to me. Promise to me before the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry a girl from Canaan. We live among these people, but don’t let him marry a Canaanite girl. 4 Go back to my country, to my own people, to find a wife for my son Isaac. Bring her here to him.”
5 The servant said to him, “Maybe this woman will not want to come back with me to this land. If that happens, should I take your son with me to your homeland?”
6 Abraham said to him, “No, don’t take my son to that place. 7 The Lord, the God of heaven, brought me from my homeland to this place. That place was the home of my father and the home of my family, but he promised that this new land would belong to my family. May he send his angel before you so that you can choose a wife for my son. 8 If the girl refuses to come with you, you will be free from this promise. But you must not take my son back to that place.”
9 So the servant put his hand under his master’s leg and made the promise.
The Search Begins
10 The servant took ten of Abraham’s camels and left that place. The servant carried with him many different kinds of beautiful gifts. He went to Mesopotamia, to Nahor’s city. 11 In the evening, when the women come out to get water, he went to the water well outside the city. He made the camels kneel down at the well.
12 The servant said, “Lord, you are the God of my master Abraham. Please show your kindness to my master by helping me find a wife for his son Isaac. 13 Here I am, standing by this well of water, and the young women from the city are coming out to get water. 14 I will say to one of them, ‘Please put your jar down so that I can drink.’ Let her answer show whether she is the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. If she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give water to your camels,’ I will know that she is the right one. It will be proof that you have shown kindness to my master.”
A Wife Is Found
15 Before the servant finished praying, a young woman named Rebekah came to the well. She was the daughter of Bethuel. (Bethuel was the son of Milcah and Nahor, Abraham’s brother.) Rebekah came to the well with her water jar on her shoulder. 16 She was very pretty. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. She went down to the well and filled her jar. 17 Then the servant ran to her and said, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jar.”
18 Rebekah quickly lowered the jar from her shoulder and gave him a drink. She said, “Drink this, sir.” 19 As soon as she finished giving him something to drink, Rebekah said, “I will also pour some water for your camels.” 20 So Rebekah quickly poured all the water from her jar into the drinking trough for the camels. Then she ran to the well to get more water, and she gave water to all the camels.
21 The servant quietly watched her. He wanted to be sure that the Lord had given him an answer and had made his trip successful. 22 After the camels finished drinking, he gave Rebekah a gold ring that weighed 1/4 ounce.[b] He also gave her two gold arm bracelets that weighed 2 ounces[c] each. 23 The servant asked, “Who is your father? And is there a place in your father’s house for me and my men to sleep?”
24 Rebekah answered, “My father is Bethuel, the son of Milcah and Nahor.” 25 Then she said, “Yes, we have straw and other food for your camels and a place for you to sleep.”
26 The servant bowed and worshiped the Lord. 27 He said, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham. The Lord has been kind and loyal to him by leading me to his own people.”
1 Greetings from the Elder.[a]
To the lady[b] chosen by God and to her children.
I truly love all of you. And I am not the only one. All those who know the truth[c] love you in the same way. 2 We love you because of the truth—the truth that lives in us. That truth will be with us forever.
3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from his Son, Jesus Christ, as we live in truth and love.
4 I was very happy to learn about some of your children. I am happy that they are following the way of truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, I tell you: We should all love each other. This is not a new command. It is the same command we had from the beginning. 6 And loving means living the way he commanded us to live. And God’s command is this: that you live a life of love. You heard this command from the beginning.
7 Many false teachers are in the world now. They refuse to say that Jesus Christ came to earth and became a man. Anyone who refuses to accept this fact is a false teacher and the enemy of Christ. 8 Be careful! Don’t lose the reward we[d] have worked for. Be careful so that you will receive all of that reward.
9 Everyone must continue to follow only the teaching about Christ. Whoever changes that teaching does not have God. But whoever continues to follow the teaching about Christ has both the Father and his Son. 10 Don’t accept those who come to you but do not bring this teaching. Don’t invite them into your house. Don’t welcome them in any way. 11 If you do, you are helping them with their evil work.
12 I have much to say to you. But I don’t want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come visit you. Then we can be together and talk. That will make us very happy. 13 The children of your sister[e] who was chosen by God send you their love.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International