Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Book I
Psalms 1–41
1 Blessed is the person who obeys the law of the Lord.
They don’t follow the advice of evil people.
They don’t make a habit of doing what sinners do.
They don’t join those who make fun of the Lord and his law.
2 Instead, the law of the Lord gives them joy.
They think about his law day and night.
3 That kind of person is like a tree that is planted near a stream of water.
It always bears its fruit at the right time.
Its leaves don’t dry up.
Everything godly people do turns out well.
4 Sinful people are not like that at all.
They are like straw
that the wind blows away.
5 When the Lord judges them, their life will come to an end.
Sinners won’t have any place among those who are godly.
6 The Lord watches over the lives of godly people.
But the lives of sinful people will lead to their death.
12 Pay attention to the laws of the Lord your God. Be careful to obey them. Then he will keep his covenant of love with you. That’s what he promised to your people of long ago. 13 The Lord will love you and bless you. He’ll cause there to be many of you. He’ll give you many children. He’ll bless the crops of your land. He’ll give you plenty of grain, olive oil and fresh wine. He’ll bless your herds with many calves. He’ll give your flocks many lambs. He’ll do all these things for you in the land of Canaan. It’s the land he promised your people of long ago that he would give you. 14 He will bless you more than any other nation. All your men and women will have children. All your livestock will have little ones. 15 The Lord will keep you from getting sick. He won’t send on you any of the horrible sicknesses you saw all around you in Egypt. But he’ll send them on everyone who hates you. 16 You must destroy all the nations the Lord your God hands over to you. Don’t feel sorry for them. Don’t serve their gods. If you do, they will be a trap for you.
17 You might say to yourselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?” 18 But don’t be afraid of them. Be sure to remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and all the Egyptians. 19 With your own eyes you saw what the Lord did to them. You saw the signs and amazing things he did. He reached out his mighty hand and powerful arm. The Lord your God used all those things to bring you out. You are now afraid of the nations that are in the land the Lord promised you. But the Lord your God will do to them the same things he did to Egypt. 20 The Lord your God will also send hornets among those nations. Some of the people left alive will hide from you. But even they will die. 21 So don’t be terrified by them. The Lord your God is with you. He is a great and wonderful God. 22 The Lord your God will drive out those nations to make room for you. But he will do it little by little. You won’t be allowed to get rid of them all at once. If you did, wild animals would multiply all around you. 23 But the Lord your God will hand those nations over to you. He will throw them into a panic until they are destroyed. 24 He will hand their kings over to you. You will wipe out their names from the earth. No one will be able to stand up against you. You will destroy them. 25 Burn the statues of their gods in the fire. Don’t wish for the silver and gold on those statues. Don’t take it for yourselves. If you do, it will be a trap for you. The Lord your God hates it. 26 Don’t bring anything he hates into your house. If you do, you will be completely destroyed along with it. So hate it with all your heart. It is set apart to be destroyed.
Final Greetings
7 Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother. He is a faithful worker. He serves the Lord together with us. 8 I am sending him to you for one reason. I want you to know what is happening here. I want him to encourage you and make your hearts strong. 9 He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother. He is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.
10 Aristarchus is in prison with me. He sends you his greetings. So does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. You have been given directions about him. If he comes to you, welcome him.
11 Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. They are the only Jews who have worked together with me for God’s kingdom. They have been a comfort to me.
12 Epaphras sends greetings. He is one of you. He serves Christ Jesus. He is always praying hard for you. He prays that you will hold on tightly to all that God has in mind for us. He prays that you will keep growing in your knowledge of what God wants. He also prays that you will be completely sure about it. 13 I am happy to tell you that he is working very hard for you. He is also working hard for everyone in Laodicea and Hierapolis.
14 Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, sends greetings. So does Demas.
15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters in Laodicea. Also give my greetings to Nympha and the church that meets in her house.
16 After this letter has been read to you, send it on. Be sure that it is also read to the church in Laodicea. And be sure that you read the letter from Laodicea.
17 Tell Archippus, “Be sure that you complete the work the Lord gave you to do.”
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