Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Michtam of David.

16 Preserve me, O God: for I trust in thee.

² Thou [my soul] hast said to Jehovah, Thou art the Lord: my goodness [extendeth] not to thee;—

³ To the saints that are on the earth, and to the excellent [thou hast said], In them is all my delight.

⁴ Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another: their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer, and I will not take up their names into my lips.

⁵ Jehovah is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.

⁶ The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.

⁷ I will bless Jehovah, who giveth me counsel; even in the nights my reins instruct me.

⁸ I have set Jehovah continually before me; because [he is] at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

⁹ Therefore my heart rejoiceth, and my glory exulteth; my flesh moreover shall dwell in hope.

¹⁰ For thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol, neither wilt thou allow thy Holy One to see corruption.

¹¹ Thou wilt make known to me the path of life: thy countenance is fulness of joy; at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.

⁹ What is thy beloved more than [another] beloved, Thou fairest among women? What is thy beloved more than [another] beloved, That thou dost so charge us?

¹⁰ My beloved is white and ruddy, The chiefest among ten thousand.

¹¹ His head is [as] the finest gold; His locks are flowing, black as the raven;

¹² His eyes are like doves by the water-brooks, Washed with milk, fitly set;

¹³ His cheeks are as a bed of spices, raised beds of sweet plants; His lips lilies, dropping liquid myrrh.

¹⁴ His hands gold rings, set with the chrysolite; His belly is bright ivory, overlaid [with] sapphires;

¹⁵ His legs, pillars of marble, set upon bases of fine gold: His bearing as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars;

¹⁶ His mouth is most sweet: Yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, yea, this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

6 Whither is thy beloved gone, Thou fairest among women? Whither is thy beloved turned aside? And we will seek him with thee.

² My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, To feed in the gardens and to gather lilies.

³ I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: He feedeth [his flock] among the lilies.

15 But I make known to you, brethren, the glad tidings which I announced to you, which also ye received, in which also ye stand,

² by which also ye are saved, (if ye hold fast the word which I announced to you as the glad tidings,) unless indeed ye have believed in vain.

³ For I delivered to you, in the first place, what also I had received, that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures;

⁴ and that he was buried; and that he was raised the third day, according to the scriptures;

⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

⁶ Then he appeared to above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the most remain until now, but some also have fallen asleep.

⁷ Then he appeared to James; then to all the apostles;

⁸ and last of all, as to an abortion, he appeared to *me* also.

⁹ For *I* am the least of the apostles, who am not fit to be called apostle, because I have persecuted the assembly of God.

¹⁰ But by God's grace I am what I am; and his grace, which [was] towards me, has not been vain; but I have laboured more abundantly than they all, but not *I*, but the grace of God which [was] with me.

¹¹ Whether, therefore, I or they, thus we preach, and thus ye have believed.