Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

²⁰ So Yahweh said, “^(A)The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. ²¹ I will ^(B)go down now and see whether they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”

²² Then ^(C)the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before ^(D)Yahweh. ²³ Then Abraham came near and said, “^(E)Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not ^[a]spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? ²⁵ Far be it from You to do ^[b]such a thing, to put to death the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not ^(F)the Judge of all the earth do justice?” ²⁶ So Yahweh said, “^(G)If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will ^[c]spare the whole place on their account.” ²⁷ And Abraham answered and said, “Now behold, I have ^[d]ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but ^(H)dust and ashes. ²⁸ Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” ²⁹ Then he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.” ³⁰ Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” ³¹ And he said, “Now behold, I have ^[e]ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.” ³² Then he said, “^(I)Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.”

I Will Give Thanks to Your Name

Of David.

⁶ Therefore as you received ^(A)Christ Jesus the Lord, so ^[a](B)walk in Him, ⁷ having been firmly ^(C)rooted and being ^(D)built up in Him, and having been ^(E)established ^[b]in your faith—just as you ^(F)were instructed—and abounding ^[c]with thanksgiving.

^8 (G)See to it that no one takes you captive through ^(H)philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the ^(I)elementary principles of the world, and not according to Christ. ⁹ For in Him all the ^(J)fullness of Deity dwells bodily, ¹⁰ and in Him you have been ^(K)filled, ^(L)who is the head ^[d]over all ^(M)rule and authority; ¹¹ in whom ^(N)you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of ^(O)the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ, ¹² having been ^(P)buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also ^(Q)raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who ^(R)raised Him from the dead. ¹³ And you being ^(S)dead ^[e]in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He ^(T)made you alive with Him, having graciously forgiven us all our transgressions. ¹⁴ Having canceled out ^(U)the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us which was hostile to us, ^(V)He also has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. ¹⁵ Having ^[f](W)disarmed the ^(X)rulers and authorities, He ^(Y)made a public display of them, having ^(Z)triumphed over them in ^[g]Him.

¹⁶ Therefore, no one is to ^(A)judge you in ^(B)food and ^(C)drink, or in respect to a ^(D)festival or a ^(E)new moon or a ^(F)Sabbath ^[a]day— ¹⁷ things which are only a ^(G)shadow of what is to come; but the ^[b]substance ^[c]belongs to Christ. ¹⁸ Let no one keep ^[d](H)defrauding you of your prize by ^(I)delighting in ^[e]self-abasement and the worship of the angels, going into detail about visions he has seen, ^(J)being puffed up for nothing by his ^(K)fleshly mind, ¹⁹ and not holding fast to ^(L)the head, from whom ^(M)the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ^[f]ligaments, grows with a growth ^[g]that is from God.

The Lord’s Prayer

11 And it happened that while ^[a]Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.” ² And He said to them, “^(A)When you pray, say:

⁵ Then He said to them, “Which of you has a friend and will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, ⁶ for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; ⁷ and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children ^[d]and I are in bed; I cannot rise up and give you anything.’ ⁸ I tell you, even though he will not arise and give him anything because he is his friend, yet ^(D)because of his ^[e]persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

⁹ “So I say to you, ^[f](E)ask, and it will be given to you; ^[g]seek, and you will find; ^[h]knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. ¹¹ But what father among you, if his son asks for a ^[i]fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? ¹² Or, if his son asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ^13 (F)If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your ^[j]heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”