Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my (A)shepherd,
I will (B)not be in need.
2 He lets me lie down in (C)green pastures;
He (D)leads me beside [a](E)quiet waters.
3 He (F)restores my soul;
He (G)guides me in the [b](H)paths of righteousness
For the sake of His name.
4 Even though I (I)walk through the [c]valley of the shadow of death,
I (J)fear no [d]evil, for (K)You are with me;
Your (L)rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You (M)prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You [e]have (N)anointed my head with oil;
My (O)cup overflows.
6 [f]Certainly (P)goodness and [g]faithfulness will follow me all the days of my life,
And my (Q)dwelling will be in the house of the Lord [h]forever.
A Satire on Idolatry
10 Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, house of Israel. 2 This is what the Lord says:
“(A)Do not learn the way of the nations,
And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens,
Although the nations are terrified by them;
3 For the customs of the peoples are (B)futile;
For (C)it is wood cut from the forest,
The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.
4 They (D)decorate the idol with silver and gold;
They (E)fasten it with nails and hammers
So that it will not totter.
5 They are like a scarecrow in a cucumber field,
And they (F)cannot speak;
They must be (G)carried,
Because they cannot walk!
Do not fear them,
For they (H)can do no harm,
Nor can they do any good.”
6 (I)There is none like You, Lord;
You are (J)great, and Your name is great in might.
7 (K)Who would not fear You, O (L)King of the nations?
For it is Your due!
For among all the (M)wise men of the nations
And in all their kingdoms,
There is none like You.
8 But they are altogether (N)stupid and foolish;
The instruction from idols is nothing but wood!
9 Beaten (O)silver is brought from (P)Tarshish,
And (Q)gold from Uphaz,
The work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith;
Their clothing is of violet and purple;
They are all the (R)work of skilled people.
10 But the Lord is the (S)true God;
He is the (T)living God and the (U)everlasting King.
The (V)earth quakes at His wrath,
And the nations cannot (W)endure His indignation.
11 [a]This is what you shall say to them: “The (X)gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will (Y)perish from the earth and from under these heavens.”
12 It is (Z)He who made the earth by His power,
Who (AA)established the world by His wisdom;
And by His understanding He has (AB)stretched out the heavens.
13 When He utters His (AC)voice, there is a roar of waters in the heavens,
And He makes the (AD)clouds ascend from the end of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain,
And brings out the (AE)wind from His storehouses.
14 Every person is (AF)stupid, devoid of knowledge;
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
For his cast metal images are deceitful,
And there is no breath in them.
15 They are (AG)worthless, a work of mockery;
At the (AH)time of their punishment they will perish.
16 The (AI)Portion of Jacob is not like these;
For He is the [b](AJ)Maker of everything,
And (AK)Israel is the tribe of His inheritance;
The (AL)Lord of armies is His name.
15 [a]He is the (A)image of the (B)invisible God, the (C)firstborn of all creation: 16 for [b](D)by Him all things were created, (E)both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether (F)thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—(G)all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He [c](H)is before all things, and in Him all things [d]hold together. 18 He is also the (I)head of (J)the body, the church; and He is (K)the beginning, (L)the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19 For [e]it was (M)the Father’s good pleasure for all (N)the [f]fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to (O)reconcile all things to Himself, (P)whether things on earth or things in [g]heaven, having made (Q)peace through (R)the blood of His cross.
21 And although you were (S)previously alienated and hostile in attitude, engaged in evil deeds, 22 yet He has now (T)reconciled you in His (U)body of flesh through death, in order to (V)present you before Him (W)holy and blameless and beyond reproach— 23 if indeed you continue in [h]the faith firmly (X)established and steadfast, and not shifting from the (Y)hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed (Z)in all creation under heaven, (AA)and of which I, Paul, [i]was made a [j](AB)minister.
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