Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 81[a]
For the music director, according to the gittith style;[b] by Asaph.
81 Shout for joy to God, our source of strength!
Shout out to the God of Jacob!
2 Sing[c] a song and play the tambourine,
the pleasant-sounding harp, and the ten-stringed instrument.
3 Sound the ram’s horn on the day of the new moon,[d]
and on the day of the full moon when our festival begins.[e]
4 For observing the festival is a requirement for Israel;[f]
it is an ordinance given by the God of Jacob.
5 He decreed it as a regulation in Joseph,
when he attacked the land of Egypt.[g]
I heard a voice I did not recognize.[h]
6 It said:[i] “I removed the burden from his shoulder;
his hands were released from holding the basket.[j]
7 In your distress you called out and I rescued you.
I answered you from a dark thundercloud.[k]
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.[l] (Selah)
8 I said,[m] ‘Listen, my people!
I will warn[n] you.
O Israel, if only you would obey me![o]
9 There must be[p] no other[q] god among you.
You must not worship a foreign god.
10 I am the Lord, your God,
the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.’
11 But my people did not obey me;[r]
Israel did not submit to me.[s]
12 I gave them over to their stubborn desires;[t]
they did what seemed right to them.[u]
13 If only my people would obey me![v]
If only Israel would keep my commands![w]
14 Then I would quickly subdue their enemies,
and attack[x] their adversaries.”
15 (May those who hate the Lord[y] cower in fear[z] before him.
May they be permanently humiliated.)[aa]
16 “I would feed Israel the best wheat,[ab]
and would satisfy your appetite[ac] with honey from the rocky cliffs.”[ad]
The Wife for Isaac
24 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years,[a] and the Lord had blessed him[b] in everything. 2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior one[c] in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh[d] 3 so that I may make you solemnly promise[e] by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire[f] a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living. 4 You must go instead to my country and to my relatives[g] to find[h] a wife for my son Isaac.”
5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me[i] to this land? Must I then[j] take your son back to the land from which you came?”
6 “Be careful[k] never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him.[l] 7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives,[m] promised me with a solemn oath,[n] ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel[o] before you so that you may find[p] a wife for my son from there. 8 But if the woman is not willing to come back with you,[q] you will be free[r] from this oath of mine. But you must not take my son back there!” 9 So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and gave his solemn promise he would carry out his wishes.[s]
10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all kinds of gifts from his master at his disposal.[t] He journeyed[u] to the region of Aram Naharaim[v] and the city of Nahor. 11 He made the camels kneel down by the well[w] outside the city. It was evening,[x] the time when the women would go out to draw water. 12 He prayed, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, guide me today.[y] Be faithful[z] to my master Abraham. 13 Here I am, standing by the spring,[aa] and the daughters of the people[ab] who live in the town are coming out to draw water. 14 I will say to a young woman, ‘Please lower your jar so I may drink.’ May the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac reply, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’[ac] In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.”[ad]
15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah[ae] with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah (Milcah was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor).[af] 16 Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever been physically intimate with her.[ag] She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up. 17 Abraham’s servant[ah] ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a sip of water from your jug.” 18 “Drink, my lord,” she replied, and quickly lowering[ai] her jug to her hands, she gave him a drink. 19 When she had done so,[aj] she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have drunk as much as they want.” 20 She quickly emptied[ak] her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw more water until she had drawn enough for all his camels. 21 Silently the man watched her with interest to determine[al] if the Lord had made his journey successful[am] or not.
22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka[an] and two gold wrist bracelets weighing ten shekels[ao] and gave them to her.[ap] 23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked.[aq] “Tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”
24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom Milcah bore to Nahor.[ar] 25 We have plenty of straw and feed,” she added,[as] “and room for you[at] to spend the night.”
26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord, 27 saying, “Praised be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love[au] for my master! The Lord has led me[av] to the house[aw] of my master’s relatives!”[ax]
Introduction and Thanksgiving
1 From[a] the elder,[b] to an elect lady[c] and her children, whom I love in truth[d] (and not I alone, but also all those[e] who know the truth), 2 because of the truth[f] that resides in us and will be with us forever. 3 Grace, mercy, and[g] peace will be with us from God the Father and from[h] Jesus Christ the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
4 I rejoiced greatly because I have found some[i] of your children living according to the truth,[j] just as the Father commanded us.[k]
Warning Against False Teachers
5 But now[l] I ask you, lady (not as if I were[m] writing a new commandment[n] to you, but the one[o] we have had from the beginning),[p] that[q] we love one another. 6 (Now this is love: that we walk[r] according to his commandments.) This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning; thus[s] you should walk in it.[t] 7 For[u] many deceivers have gone out into the world, people who do not confess Jesus as[v] Christ[w] coming in the flesh.[x] This person is the deceiver and the antichrist![y] 8 Watch out, so that you do not lose the things we have worked for,[z] but receive a full reward.[aa]
9 Everyone[ab] who goes on ahead and does not remain[ac] in the teaching of Christ[ad] does not have God.[ae] The one who remains in this teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house and do not give him any greeting,[af] 11 because the person who gives him a greeting shares in his evil deeds.[ag]
Conclusion
12 Though I have many other[ah] things to write to you, I do not want to do so with[ai] paper and ink,[aj] but I hope to come visit you and speak face to face,[ak] so that our joy may be complete.
13 The children of your elect sister greet you.[al]
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