Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God Knows Everything
For the director of music. A song of David.
139 Lord, you have examined me.
You know all about me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I get up.
You know my thoughts before I think them.
3 You know where I go and where I lie down.
You know well everything I do.
4 Lord, even before I say a word,
you already know what I am going to say.
5 You are all around me—in front and in back.
You have put your hand on me.
6 Your knowledge is amazing to me.
It is more than I can understand.
13 You made my whole being.
You formed me in my mother’s body.
14 I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way.
What you have done is wonderful.
I know this very well.
15 You saw my bones being formed
as I took shape in my mother’s body.
When I was put together there,
16 you saw my body as it was formed.
All the days planned for me
were written in your book
before I was one day old.
17 God, your thoughts are precious to me.
They are so many!
18 If I could count them,
they would be more than all the grains of sand.
When I wake up,
I am still with you.
21 The Lord was kind to Hannah. She became the mother of three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up serving the Lord.
22 Now Eli was very old. He heard about everything his sons were doing to all the Israelites. He also heard about how his sons had physical relations with the women who served at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. 23 Eli said to his sons, “The people here tell me about the evil you do. Why do you do these evil things? 24 No, my sons. The Lord’s people are saying bad things about you. 25 If someone sins against another person, God can help him. But if he sins against the Lord himself, no one can help him!” But Eli’s sons would not listen to him. This was because the Lord had decided to put them to death.
A Story About Ten Girls
25 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten girls who went to wait for the bridegroom. They took their lamps with them. 2 Five of the girls were foolish and five were wise. 3 The five foolish girls took their lamps, but they did not take more oil for the lamps to burn. 4 The wise girls took their lamps and more oil in jars. 5 The bridegroom was very late. All the girls became sleepy and went to sleep.
6 “At midnight someone cried out, ‘The bridegroom is coming! Come and meet him!’ 7 Then all the girls woke up and got their lamps ready. 8 But the foolish girls said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil. Our lamps are going out.’ 9 The wise girls answered, ‘No! The oil we have might not be enough for all of us. Go to the people who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “So the five foolish girls went to buy oil. While they were gone, the bridegroom came. The girls who were ready went in with the bridegroom to the wedding feast. Then the door was closed and locked.
11 “Later the others came back. They called, ‘Sir, sir, open the door to let us in.’ 12 But the bridegroom answered, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’
13 “So always be ready. You don’t know the day or the time the Son of Man will come.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.