Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Psalmist’s Profession of Uprightness.
A Psalm of David.
101 I will sing of [steadfast] lovingkindness and justice;
To You, O Lord, I will sing praises.
2
I will behave wisely and follow the way of integrity.
When will You come to me?
I will walk in my house in integrity and with a blameless heart.
3
I will set no worthless or wicked thing before my eyes.
I hate the practice of those who fall away [from the right path];
It will not grasp hold of me.
4
A perverse heart shall depart from me;
I will not tolerate evil.
5
Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will silence;
The one who has a haughty look and a proud (arrogant) heart I will not tolerate.
6
My eyes will be on the faithful (honorable) of the land, that they may dwell with me;
He who walks blamelessly is the one who will minister to and serve me.
7
He who practices deceit will not dwell in my house;
He who tells lies and half-truths will not continue [to remain] in my presence.
8
Morning after morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land,
That I may cut off from the city of the Lord all those who do evil.
Solomon Wisely Judges
16 Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 And the one woman said, “O my lord, this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. 18 And on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. And we were [alone] together; no one else was with us in the house, just we two. 19 Now this woman’s son died during the night, because she lay on him [and smothered him]. 20 So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from [his place] beside me while your maidservant was asleep, and laid him on her bosom, and laid her dead son on my bosom. 21 When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, behold, he was dead. But when I examined him carefully in the morning, behold, it was not my son, the one whom I had borne.” 22 Then the other woman said, “No! For my son is the one who is living, and your son is the dead one.” But the first woman said, “No! For your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.” [This is how] they were speaking before the king.
23 Then the king said, “This woman says, ‘This is my son, the one who is alive, and your son is the dead one’; and the other woman says, ‘No! For your son is the dead one, and my son is the one who is alive.’” 24 Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king. 25 Then the king said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to the one [woman] and half to the other.” 26 Then the woman whose child was the living one spoke to the king, for she was deeply moved over her son, “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; cut him!” 27 Then the king said, “Give the first woman [who is pleading for his life] the living child, and by no means kill him. She is his mother.” 28 When all [the people of] Israel heard about the judgment which the king had made, they [were in awe and reverently] feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was within him to administer justice.
Choosing of the Seven
6 Now about this time, when the number of disciples was increasing, a complaint was made by the [a]Hellenists (Greek-speaking Jews) against the [[b]native] Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. 2 So the [c]Twelve called the disciples together and said, “It is not appropriate for us to neglect [teaching] the word of God in order to serve tables and manage the distribution of food. 3 Therefore, brothers, choose from among you seven men with good reputations [men of godly character and moral integrity], full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. 4 But we will [continue to] devote ourselves [steadfastly] to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 The suggestion pleased the whole congregation; and they selected [d]Stephen, a man full of faith [in Christ Jesus], and [filled with and led by] the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas (Nikolaos), a proselyte (Gentile convert) from Antioch. 6 They brought these men before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them [to dedicate and commission them for this service].
7 And the message of God kept on growing and spreading, and the number of disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem; and a large number of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith [accepting Jesus as Messiah and acknowledging Him as the Source of eternal salvation].
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