Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
By David.
35 O Lord, attack those who attack me.
Fight against those who fight against me.
2 Use your shields, ⌞both⌟ small and large.
Arise to help me.
3 Hold your spear to block the way of those who pursue me.
Say to my soul, “I am your savior.”
4 Let those who seek my life be put to shame and disgraced.
Let those who plan my downfall be turned back in confusion.
5 Let them be like husks blown by the wind
as the Messenger of the Lord chases them.
6 Let their path be dark and slippery
as the Messenger of the Lord pursues them.
7 For no reason they hid their net in a pit.
For no reason they dug the pit ⌞to trap me⌟.
8 Let destruction surprise them.
Let the net that they hid catch them.
Let them fall into their own pit and be destroyed.
9 My soul will find joy in the Lord
and be joyful about his salvation.
10 All my bones will say, “O Lord, who can compare with you?
You rescue the weak person from the one who is too strong for him
and weak and needy people from the one who robs them.”
22 God became angry that he was going. So the Messenger of the Lord stood in the road to stop him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, accompanied by his two servants. 23 When the donkey saw the Messenger of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn, the donkey turned off the road into a field. Balaam hit the donkey to get it back on the road.
24 Where the road went through the vineyards, it was narrow, with stone walls on both sides. Now the Messenger of the Lord stood there. 25 When the donkey saw the Messenger of the Lord, it moved over and pinned Balaam’s foot against the wall. So Balaam hit the donkey again.
26 Then the Messenger of the Lord moved ahead and stood in a narrower place where there was no room to turn to the right or the left. 27 When the donkey saw the Messenger of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam. Balaam became so angry he hit the donkey with his stick. 28 Then the Lord made the donkey speak, and it asked Balaam, “What have I done to make you hit me three times?”
32 So I don’t want you to have any concerns. An unmarried man is concerned about the things of the Lord, ⌞that is,⌟ about how he can please the Lord. 33 But the married man is concerned about earthly things, ⌞that is,⌟ about how he can please his wife. 34 His attention is divided.
An unmarried woman or a virgin is concerned about the Lord’s things so that she may be holy in body and in spirit. But the married woman is concerned about earthly things, ⌞that is,⌟ about how she can please her husband. 35 I’m saying this for your benefit, not to restrict you. I’m showing you how to live a noble life of devotion to the Lord without being distracted by other things.
36 No father would want to do the wrong thing when his virgin daughter is old enough to get married. If she wants to get married, he isn’t sinning by letting her get married. 37 However, a father may have come to a decision about his daughter. If his decision is to keep her ⌞at home⌟ because she doesn’t want to get married, that’s fine. 38 So it’s fine for a father to give his daughter in marriage, but the father who doesn’t give his daughter in marriage does even better.
39 A married woman must remain with her husband as long as he lives. If her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but only if the man is a Christian.[a] 40 However, she will be more blessed if she stays as she is. That is my opinion, and I think that I, too, have God’s Spirit.
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