Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 23[a]
The Lord, Shepherd and Host
1 A psalm of David.
I
The Lord is my shepherd;[b]
there is nothing I lack.(A)
2 In green pastures he makes me lie down;
to still waters he leads me;
3 (B)he restores my soul.
He guides me along right paths[c]
for the sake of his name.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,(C)
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff comfort me.
II
Chapter 10
The Folly of Idolatry. 1 Hear the word the Lord speaks to you, house of Israel. 2 Thus says the Lord:
Do not learn the ways of the nations,
and have no fear of the signs in the heavens,[a]
even though the nations fear them.(A)
3 For the carvings of the nations are nonentities,
wood cut from the forest,
Fashioned by artisans with the adze,(B)
4 adorned with silver and gold.
With nails and hammers they are fastened,
so they do not fall.(C)
5 Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they,
they cannot speak;
They must be carried about,
for they cannot walk.
Do not fear them, they can do no harm,
neither can they do good.(D)
6 No one is like you, Lord,
you are great,
great and mighty is your name.(E)
7 Who would not fear you,
King of the nations,
for it is your due!
Among all the wisest of the nations,
and in all their domains,
there is none like you.(F)
8 One and all they are stupid and senseless,
the instruction from nonentities—only wood!
9 Silver plates brought from Tarshish,
and gold from Ophir,
The work of the artisan
and the handiwork of the smelter,
Clothed with violet and purple—
all of them the work of skilled workers.
10 The Lord is truly God,
he is the living God, the eternal King,
Before whose anger the earth quakes,
whose wrath the nations cannot endure.(G)
11 Thus shall you say of them: The gods that did not make heaven and earth—let these perish from earth and from beneath heaven
12 The one who made the earth by his power,
established the world by his wisdom,
and by his skill stretched out the heavens.(I)
13 When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar,
and he brings up clouds from the end of the earth,
Makes lightning flash in the rain,
and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
14 Everyone is too stupid to know;
every artisan is put to shame by his idol:
He has molded a fraud,
without breath of life.(J)
15 They are nothing, objects of ridicule;
they will perish in their time of punishment.
16 Jacob’s portion is nothing like them:
for he is the maker of everything!
Israel is his very own tribe,
Lord of hosts is his name.(K)
II. The Preeminence of Christ
His Person and Work
15 [a]He is the image[b] of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.(A)
16 For in him[c] were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.(B)
17 He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
18 He is the head of the body, the church.[d]
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.(C)
19 For in him all the fullness[e] was pleased to dwell,
20 and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the blood of his cross[f]
[through him], whether those on earth or those in heaven.(D)
21 [g]And you who once were alienated and hostile in mind because of evil deeds(E) 22 he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through his death, to present you holy, without blemish, and irreproachable before him, 23 provided that you persevere in the faith, firmly grounded, stable, and not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, am a minister.
Christ in Us.[h]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.