Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 23
The Good Shepherd
A psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd;(A)
I have what I need.(B)
2 He lets me lie down in green pastures;(C)
he leads me beside quiet waters.(D)
3 He renews my life;
he leads me along the right paths[a]
for his name’s sake.(E)
4 Even when I go through the darkest valley,[b]
I fear no danger,
for you are with me;(F)
your rod and your staff—they comfort me.(G)
False Gods Contrasted with the Creator
10 Hear the word that the Lord has spoken to[a] you, house of Israel. 2 This is what the Lord says:
Do not learn the way of the nations(A)
or be terrified by signs in the heavens,
although the nations are terrified by them,
3 for the customs of the peoples are worthless.
Someone cuts down a tree from the forest;
it is worked by the hands of a craftsman with a chisel.
4 He decorates it with silver and gold.(B)
It is fastened with hammer and nails,(C)
so it won’t totter.
5 Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch,
their idols cannot speak.(D)
They must be carried(E) because they cannot walk.
Do not fear them for they can do no harm(F)—
and they cannot do any good.(G)
6 Lord, there is no one like you.(H)
You are great;
your name is great in power.(I)
7 Who should not fear you,
King of the nations?(J)
It is what you deserve.
For among all the wise people of the nations
and among all their kingdoms,
there is no one like you.
8 They are both stupid and foolish,
instructed by worthless idols
made of wood!
9 Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish(K)
and gold from Uphaz.[b](L)
The work of a craftsman
and of a goldsmith’s hands
is clothed in blue and purple,
all the work of skilled artisans.
10 But the Lord is the true God;(M)
he is the living God(N) and eternal King.(O)
The earth quakes at his wrath,(P)
and the nations cannot endure his fury.
11 You are to say this to them: “The gods that did not make the heavens(Q) and the earth will perish from the earth(R) and from under these heavens.”[c]
12 He made the earth by his power,
established the world(S) by his wisdom,(T)
and spread out the heavens by his understanding.(U)
13 When he thunders,[d]
the waters in the heavens are in turmoil,(V)
and he causes the clouds to rise
from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
and brings the wind from his storehouses.(W)
14 Everyone is stupid and ignorant.
Every goldsmith is put to shame
by his carved image,(X)
for his cast images are a lie;(Y)
there is no breath in them.(Z)
15 They are worthless, a work to be mocked.
At the time of their punishment
they will be destroyed.(AA)
16 Jacob’s Portion[e] is not like these
because he is the one who formed all things.(AB)
Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;(AC)
the Lord of Armies is his name.(AD)
The Centrality of Christ
15 He is the image of the invisible God,(A)
the firstborn over all creation.(B)
16 For everything was created by him,(C)
in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions
or rulers or authorities—
all things have been created through him and for him.(D)
17 He is before all things,(E)
and by him all things(F) hold together.
18 He is also the head of the body, the church;
he is the beginning,(G)
the firstborn from the dead,(H)
so that he might come to have
first place in everything.
19 For God was pleased to have
all his fullness(I) dwell in him,(J)
20 and through him to reconcile
everything to himself,
whether things on earth or things in heaven,
by making peace(K)
through his blood,(L) shed on the cross.[a](M)
21 Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds as expressed in your evil actions. 22 But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through his death,(N) to present you holy, faultless,(O) and blameless before him(P)— 23 if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith(Q) and are not shifted away from the hope(R) of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has been proclaimed in all creation(S) under heaven,(T) and I, Paul,(U) have become a servant of it.
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