Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Prayer for Protection against the Wicked.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
140 (A)Rescue me, Lord, from evil people;
Protect me from (B)violent men
2 Who (C)devise evil things in their hearts;
They (D)continually stir up wars.
3 They (E)sharpen their tongues like a snake;
(F)The venom of a viper is under their lips. Selah
4 (G)Keep me, Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
(H)Protect me from violent men
Who [a]intend to [b](I)trip up my feet.
5 The proud have (J)hidden a trap for me, and snares;
They have spread a (K)net at the [c]wayside;
They have set (L)snares for me. Selah
6 I (M)said to the Lord, “You are my God;
(N)Listen, Lord, to the (O)sound of my pleadings.
7 [d]God the Lord, (P)the strength of my salvation,
You have (Q)covered my head on the day of [e]battle.
8 Do not grant, Lord, the (R)desires of the wicked;
Do not bring about (S)his evil planning, so that they are not exalted. Selah
9 “As for the head of those who surround me,
May the (T)harm of their lips cover them.
10 May (U)burning coals fall upon them;
May they be (V)cast into the fire,
Into bottomless pits from which they (W)cannot rise.
11 May a [f]slanderer not endure on the earth;
(X)May evil hunt a violent person [g]violently.”
34 So he said, “I am (A)Abraham’s servant. 35 The Lord has greatly (B)blessed my master, so that he has become [a]rich; and He has given him (C)flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and servants and slave women, and camels and donkeys. 36 Now (D)my master’s wife Sarah bore a son to my master [b]in her old age, and (E)he has given him all that he has. 37 (F)My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live; 38 but you shall go to my father’s house and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son.’ 39 Then (G)I said to my master, ‘Suppose the woman does not follow me.’ 40 And he said to me, ‘(H)The Lord, before whom I have (I)walked, will send (J)His angel with you to make your journey successful, and you will take a wife for my son from my relatives and from my father’s house; 41 (K)then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my relatives; and if they do not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’
50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “(A)The matter has come from the Lord; (B)so we cannot speak to you bad or good. 51 Here is Rebekah before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken.”
52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he (C)bowed himself to the ground [a]before the Lord. 53 And the servant brought out (D)articles of silver and articles of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother. 54 Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night. When they got up in the morning, he said, “(E)Send me away to my master.” 55 But her brother and her mother said, “(F)Let the young woman stay with us a few days, say ten; afterward she may go.” 56 However, he said to them, “Do not delay me, since (G)the Lord has prospered my way. Send me away so that I may go to my master.” 57 And they said, “We will call the young woman and [b]ask her.” 58 Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.” 59 So they sent away their sister Rebekah and (H)her nurse with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,
“May you, our sister,
(I)Become thousands of ten thousands,
And may (J)your [c]descendants possess
The gate of those who hate them.”
61 Then Rebekah got up with her female attendants, and they mounted the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed.
Isaac Marries Rebekah
62 Now Isaac had come back from [d]a journey to (K)Beer-lahai-roi; for he was living in (L)the [e]Negev. 63 Isaac went out (M)to [f]meditate in the field toward evening; and (N)he raised his eyes and looked, and behold, camels were coming. 64 Rebekah raised her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel. 65 She said to the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?” And the servant said, “He is my master.” Then she took her [g]veil and covered herself. 66 The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and (O)he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and (P)he loved her; so Isaac was comforted after (Q)his mother’s death.
7 (A)Beloved, I am (B)not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had (C)from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. 8 [a]On the other hand, I am writing (D)a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because (E)the darkness is passing away and (F)the true Light is already shining. 9 The one who says that he is in the Light and yet (G)hates his (H)brother or sister is in the darkness until now. 10 (I)The one who loves his brother and sister remains in the Light, and there is nothing in him to cause stumbling. 11 But the one who (J)hates his brother or sister is in the darkness and (K)walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has (L)blinded his eyes.
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