Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 15
A Psalm of David.
1 Lord, who will abide in Your tabernacle?
Who will dwell in Your holy hill?
2 He who walks uprightly,
and does righteousness,
and speaks truth in his heart;
3 he who does not slander with the tongue
and does no evil to his neighbor,
nor bears a reproach against his friend;
4 in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
but who honors those who fear the Lord;
he who swears to avoid evil
and does not change;
5 he who does not put his money out to usury,
nor take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
will never be moved.
Abram Rescues Lot
14 In the days that Amraphel was king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goyim, 2 they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3 All these were joined together in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea). 4 For twelve years they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, and the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 6 and the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is by the wilderness. 7 Then they turned back and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh) and conquered all the country of the Amalekites and also the Amorites who lived in Hazezon Tamar.
8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out, and they joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim 9 against Kedorlaomer, the king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell in them, and the rest fled to the hill country. 11 Then they took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and departed. 12 They also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who lived in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.
13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living near the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshkol and Aner, and these were allies with Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his relative was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants born in his own house, and pursued them as far as Dan. 15 During the night he divided his men to attack them and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. 16 He brought back all the possessions, along with his relative Lot and his possessions, and also the women and the people.
The Parable of the Sower(A)
4 When a large crowd had gathered together and people were coming to Him from every city, He told this parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 Some fell on a rock. And as soon as it sprang up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. 7 Yet some fell among thorns. And the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. 8 And other seed fell on good ground and sprang up and yielded a hundred times the amount sown.”
When He had said these things, He cried out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
The Purpose of the Parables(B)
9 His disciples asked Him, “What might this parable mean?” 10 He said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but to others they are in parables, so that
‘seeing they may not see,
and hearing they may not understand.’[a]
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.