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.
17 (A)Pick up your bundle from the ground,
You who live under siege!
18 For this is what the Lord says:
“Behold, I am (B)slinging out the inhabitants of the land
At this time,
And I will cause them distress,
So that they may [a]be found.”
19 (C)Woe to me, because of my [b]injury!
My (D)wound is incurable.
But I said, “This certainly is a sickness,
And I (E)must endure it.”
20 My (F)tent is destroyed,
And all my ropes are broken.
My (G)sons have gone from me and are no more.
There is (H)no one to stretch out my tent again
Or to set up my curtains.
21 For the shepherds have become stupid
And (I)have not sought the Lord.
Therefore they have not prospered,
And (J)all their flock is scattered.
22 The sound of a (K)report! Behold, it is coming—
A great roar (L)from the land of the north—
To (M)make the cities of Judah
A desolation, a haunt of jackals.
23 I know, Lord, that (N)a person’s way is not in himself,
(O)Nor is it in a person who walks to direct his steps.
24 (P)Correct me, Lord, but with justice;
Not with Your anger, or You will [c]bring me to nothing.
25 (Q)Pour out Your wrath on the nations that (R)do not know You,
And on the families who (S)do not call upon Your name;
For they have devoured Jacob;
They have (T)devoured him and consumed him,
And have laid waste his [d]settlement.
Paul in Athens
16 Now while Paul was waiting for them in (A)Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he observed that the city was full of idols. 17 So he was reasoning (B)in the synagogue with the Jews and (C)the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be present. 18 And some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers as well were [a]conversing with him. Some were saying, “What could (D)this [b]scavenger of tidbits want to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching (E)Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they (F)took him and brought him [c]to the [d](G)Areopagus, saying, “May we know what (H)this new teaching is [e]which you are proclaiming? 20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.” 21 (Now all the Athenians and the strangers (I)visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)
Sermon on Mars Hill
22 So Paul stood in the midst of the [f]Areopagus and said, “Men of (J)Athens, I see that you are very (K)religious in all respects. 23 For while I was passing through and examining the (L)objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore, what (M)you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. 24 (N)The God who made the world and everything that is in it, since He is (O)Lord of heaven and earth, does not (P)dwell in temples made by hands; 25 nor is He served by human hands, (Q)as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; 26 and (R)He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having (S)determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might feel around for Him and find Him, (T)though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for (U)in Him we live and move and [g]exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His descendants.’ 29 Therefore, since we are the descendants of God, we (V)ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and thought. 30 So having (W)overlooked (X)the times of ignorance, God is (Y)now proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent, 31 because He has set (Z)a day on which (AA)He will judge [h](AB)the world in righteousness [i]through a Man whom He has (AC)appointed, having furnished proof to all people [j]by (AD)raising Him from the dead.”
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