Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

81 To the Overseer. -- `On the Gittith.' By Asaph. Cry aloud to God our strength, Shout to the God of Jacob.

² Lift up a song, and give out a timbrel, A pleasant harp with psaltery.

³ Blow in the month a trumpet, In the new moon, at the day of our festival,

⁴ For a statute to Israel it [is], An ordinance of the God of Jacob.

⁵ A testimony on Joseph He hath placed it, In his going forth over the land of Egypt. A lip, I have not known -- I hear.

⁶ From the burden his shoulder I turned aside, His hands from the basket pass over.

⁷ In distress thou hast called and I deliver thee, I answer thee in the secret place of thunder, I try thee by the waters of Meribah. Selah.

⁸ Hear, O My people, and I testify to thee, O Israel, if thou dost hearken to me:

⁹ There is not in thee a strange god, And thou bowest not thyself to a strange god.

¹⁰ I [am] Jehovah thy God, Who bringeth thee up out of the land of Egypt. Enlarge thy mouth, and I fill it.

¹¹ But, My people hearkened not to My voice, And Israel hath not consented to Me.

¹² And I send them away in the enmity of their heart, They walk in their own counsels.

¹³ O that My people were hearkening to Me, Israel in My ways would walk.

¹⁴ As a little thing their enemies I cause to bow, And against their adversaries I turn back My hand,

¹⁵ Those hating Jehovah feign obedience to Him, But their time is -- to the age.

¹⁶ He causeth him to eat of the fat of wheat, And [with] honey from a rock I satisfy thee!

24 And Abraham [is] old, he hath entered into days, and Jehovah hath blessed Abraham in all [things];

² and Abraham saith unto his servant, the eldest of his house, who is ruling over all that he hath, `Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh,

³ and I cause thee to swear by Jehovah, God of the heavens, and God of the earth, that thou dost not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanite, in the midst of whom I am dwelling;

⁴ but unto my land and unto my kindred dost thou go, and hast taken a wife for my son, for Isaac.'

⁵ And the servant saith unto him, `It may be the woman is not willing to come after me unto this land; do I at all cause thy son to turn back unto the land from whence thou camest out?'

⁶ And Abraham saith unto him, `Take heed to thyself, lest thou cause my son to turn back thither;

⁷ Jehovah, God of the heavens, who hath taken me from the house of my father, and from the land of my birth, and who hath spoken to me, and who hath sworn to me, saying, To thy seed I give this land, He doth send His messenger before thee, and thou hast taken a wife for my son from thence;

⁸ and if the woman be not willing to come after thee, then thou hast been acquitted from this mine oath: only my son thou dost not cause to turn back thither.'

⁹ And the servant putteth his hand under the thigh of Abraham his lord, and sweareth to him concerning this matter.

¹⁰ And the servant taketh ten camels of the camels of his lord and goeth, also of all the goods of his lord in his hand, and he riseth, and goeth unto Aram-Naharaim, unto the city of Nahor;

¹¹ and he causeth the camels to kneel at the outside of the city, at the well of water, at even-time, at the time of the coming out of the women who draw water.

¹² And he saith, `Jehovah, God of my lord Abraham, cause to meet, I pray Thee, before me this day -- (and do kindness with my lord Abraham;

¹³ lo, I am standing by the fountain of water, and daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water;

¹⁴ and it hath been, the young person unto whom I say, Incline, I pray thee, thy pitcher, and I drink, and she hath said, Drink, and I water also thy camels) -- her Thou hast decided for Thy servant, for Isaac; and by it I know that Thou hast done kindness with my lord.'

¹⁵ And it cometh to pass, before he hath finished speaking, that lo, Rebekah (who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, wife of Nahor, brother of Abraham) is coming out, and her pitcher on her shoulder,

¹⁶ and the young person [is] of very good appearance, a virgin, and a man hath not known her; and she goeth down to the fountain, and filleth her pitcher, and cometh up.

¹⁷ And the servant runneth to meet her, and saith, `Let me swallow, I pray thee, a little water from thy pitcher;'

¹⁸ and she saith, `Drink, my lord;' and she hasteth, and letteth down her pitcher upon her hand, and giveth him drink.

¹⁹ And she finisheth giving him drink, and saith, `Also for thy camels I draw till they have finished drinking;'

²⁰ and she hasteth, and emptieth her pitcher into the drinking-trough, and runneth again unto the well to draw, and draweth for all his camels.

²¹ And the man, wondering at her, remaineth silent, to know whether Jehovah hath made his way prosperous or not.

²² And it cometh to pass when the camels have finished drinking, that the man taketh a golden ring (whose weight [is] a bekah), and two bracelets for her hands (whose weight [is] ten [bekahs] of gold),

²³ and saith, `Whose daughter [art] thou? declare to me, I pray thee, is the house of thy father a place for us to lodge in?'

²⁴ And she saith unto him, `I [am] daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah, whom she hath borne to Nahor.'

²⁵ She saith also unto him, `Both straw and provender [are] abundant with us, also a place to lodge in.'

²⁶ And the man boweth, and doth obeisance to Jehovah,

²⁷ and saith, `Blessed [is] Jehovah, God of my lord Abraham, who hath not left off His kindness and His truth with my lord; -- I [being] in the way, Jehovah hath led me to the house of my lord's brethren.'

¹ The Elder to the choice Kyria, and to her children, whom I love in truth, and not I only, but also all those having known the truth,

² because of the truth that is remaining in us, and with us shall be to the age,

³ there shall be with you grace, kindness, peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

⁴ I rejoiced exceedingly that I have found of thy children walking in truth, even as a command we did receive from the Father;

⁵ and now I beseech thee, Kyria, not as writing to thee a new command, but which we had from the beginning, that we may love one another,

⁶ and this is the love, that we may walk according to His commands; this is the command, even as ye did hear from the beginning, that in it ye may walk,

⁷ because many leading astray did enter into the world, who are not confessing Jesus Christ coming in flesh; this one is he who is leading astray, and the antichrist.

⁸ See to yourselves that ye may not lose the things that we wrought, but a full reward may receive;

⁹ every one who is transgressing, and is not remaining in the teaching of the Christ, hath not God; he who is remaining in the teaching of the Christ, this one hath both the Father and the Son;

¹⁰ if any one doth come unto you, and this teaching doth not bear, receive him not into the house, and say not to him, `Hail!'

¹¹ for he who is saying to him, `Hail,' hath fellowship with his evil works.

¹² Many things having to write to you, I did not intend through paper and ink, but I hope to come unto you, and speak mouth to mouth, that our joy may be full;

¹³ salute thee do the children of thy choice sister. Amen.