Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord the Shepherd of His People
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is (A)my shepherd;
(B)I shall not [a]want.
2 (C)He makes me to lie down in [b]green pastures;
(D)He leads me beside the [c]still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
(E)He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
8 Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons, and said, “Who are these?”
9 Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place.”
And he said, “Please bring them to me, and (A)I will bless them.” 10 Now (B)the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he (C)kissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, (D)“I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!”
12 So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. 14 Then Israel stretched out his right hand and (E)laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, (F)guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the (G)firstborn. 15 And (H)he blessed Joseph, and said:
“God, (I)before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has fed me all my life long to this day,
16 The Angel (J)who has redeemed me from all evil,
Bless the lads;
Let (K)my name be named upon them,
And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
And let them (L)grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
17 Now when Joseph saw that his father (M)laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”
19 But his father refused and said, (N)“I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly (O)his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”
Feeding the Five Thousand(A)
30 (B)Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. 31 (C)And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For (D)there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. 32 (E)So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.
33 But [a]the multitudes saw them departing, and many (F)knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him. 34 (G)And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like (H)sheep not having a shepherd. So (I)He began to teach them many things.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.