Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 121[a]
A song of ascents.[b]
121 I look up[c] toward the hills.
From where[d] does my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,[e]
the Creator[f] of heaven and earth.
3 May he not allow your foot to slip.
May your Protector[g] not sleep.[h]
4 Look! Israel’s Protector[i]
does not sleep or slumber.
5 The Lord is your protector;
the Lord is the shade at your right hand.
6 The sun will not harm you by day,
or the moon by night.[j]
7 The Lord will protect you from all harm;
he will protect your life.
8 The Lord will protect you in all you do,[k]
now and forevermore.
11 “O afflicted one, driven away,[a] and unconsoled!
Look, I am about to set your stones in antimony,
and lay your foundation with lapis lazuli.
12 I will make your pinnacles out of gems,[b]
your gates out of beryl,[c]
and your outer wall[d] out of beautiful[e] stones.
13 All your children will be followers of the Lord,
and your children will enjoy great prosperity.[f]
14 You will be reestablished when I vindicate you.[g]
You will not experience oppression;[h]
indeed, you will not be afraid.
You will not be terrified,[i]
for nothing frightening[j] will come near you.
15 If anyone dares to[k] challenge you, it will not be my doing!
Whoever tries to challenge you will be defeated.[l]
16 Look, I create the craftsman,
who fans the coals into a fire
and forges a weapon.[m]
I create the destroyer so he might devastate.
17 No weapon forged to be used against you will succeed;
you will refute everyone who tries to accuse you.[n]
This is what the Lord will do for his servants—
I will vindicate them,”[o]
says the Lord.
22 So Paul stood[a] before the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious[b] in all respects.[c] 23 For as I went around and observed closely your objects of worship,[d] I even found an altar with this inscription:[e] ‘To an unknown god.’ Therefore what you worship without knowing it,[f] this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it,[g] who is[h] Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by human hands,[i] 25 nor is he served by human hands, as if he needed anything,[j] because he himself gives life and breath and everything to everyone.[k] 26 From one man[l] he made every nation of the human race[m] to inhabit the entire earth,[n] determining their set times[o] and the fixed limits of the places where they would live,[p] 27 so that they would search for God and perhaps grope around[q] for him and find him,[r] though he is[s] not far from each one of us. 28 For in him we live and move about[t] and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’[u] 29 So since we are God’s offspring, we should not think the deity[v] is like gold or silver or stone, an image[w] made by human[x] skill[y] and imagination.[z] 30 Therefore, although God has overlooked[aa] such times of ignorance,[ab] he now commands all people[ac] everywhere to repent,[ad] 31 because he has set[ae] a day on which he is going to judge the world[af] in righteousness, by a man whom he designated,[ag] having provided proof to everyone by raising[ah] him from the dead.”
32 Now when they heard about[ai] the resurrection from the dead, some began to scoff,[aj] but others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul left the Areopagus.[ak] 34 But some people[al] joined him[am] and believed. Among them[an] were Dionysius, who was a member of the Areopagus,[ao] a woman[ap] named Damaris, and others with them.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.