Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Lord—Our Safe Place in Life and Covering in Death

16 Keep me, O God, for I am safe in You. ² I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord. All the good things I have come from You.” ³ As for those in the land who belong to You, they are the great ones in whom is all my joy. ⁴ Those who have traded for another god bring many troubles on themselves. I will not take part in their altar gifts of blood. And I will not take their names upon my lips.

⁵ The Lord is all that I am to receive, and my cup. My future is in Your hands. ⁶ The land given to me is good. Yes, my share is beautiful to me.

⁷ I will give honor and thanks to the Lord, Who has told me what to do. Yes, even at night my mind teaches me. ⁸ I have placed the Lord always in front of me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be moved. ⁹ And so my heart is glad. My soul is full of joy. My body also will rest without fear. ¹⁰ For You will not give me over to the grave. And You will not allow Your Holy One to return to dust. ¹¹ You will show me the way of life. Being with You is to be full of joy. In Your right hand there is happiness forever.

Women of Jerusalem

⁹ “What is your loved one more than another loved one, O most beautiful among women? What is your loved one more than another loved one, that you tell us to do this?”

The Woman

¹⁰ “My loved one is bright and red, the best among 10,000. ¹¹ His head is like gold, pure gold. His hair has waves and is black as a raven. ¹² His eyes are like doves beside rivers of water, washed in milk, and resting in their places. ¹³ His cheeks are like beds of spices, with sweet-smelling plants. His lips are like lily flowers giving off drops of perfume. ¹⁴ His hands are strong pieces of gold set with stones of much worth. His body is made of ivory set with stones of much worth. ¹⁵ His legs are pillars of clay put on bases of pure gold. He looks like Lebanon, as beautiful as the cedar trees. ¹⁶ His mouth is very sweet, everything about him is pleasing. This is my loved one and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.”

Women of Jerusalem

6 “Where has your loved one gone, O most beautiful among women? Where has your loved one turned, that we may look for him with you?”

The Woman

² “My love has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices. He has gone to feed his flock in the gardens and to gather lilies. ³ I am my love’s, and my love is mine, he who feeds his flock among the lilies.”

Jesus Christ Was Raised from the Dead

15 Christian brothers, I want to tell the Good News to you again. It is the same as I preached to you before. You received it and your faith has been made strong by it. ² This is what I preached to you. You are saved from the punishment of sin by the Good News if you keep hold of it, unless your faith was worth nothing.

³ First of all, I taught you what I had received. It was this: Christ died for our sins as the Holy Writings said He would. ^{(A) 4} Christ was buried. He was raised from the dead three days later as the Holy Writings said He would. ^{(B) 5} Christ was seen by Peter. After that, the twelve followers saw Him. ⁶ After that, more than 500 of His followers saw Him at one time. Most of them are still here, but some have died. ⁷ After that, James saw Christ. Then all the missionaries saw Him. ⁸ Last of all, Christ showed Himself to me as if I had been born too late. ⁹ For I am the least important of all the missionaries. I should not be called a missionary because I made it so hard for God’s church. ¹⁰ I am different now. It is all because of what God did for me by His loving-favor. His loving-favor was not wasted. I worked harder than all the other missionaries. But it was not I who worked. It was God’s loving-favor working through me. ¹¹ It makes no difference how you heard the Good News. It could have been through the other missionaries or through me. The important thing is this: We preached the Good News to you and you believed it.