Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 113
The Mighty Deliverer
Invitation to Praise
1 Praise the Lord.[a]
Praise, you servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord.
2 Let the name of the Lord be blessed, from now to eternity.
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the name of the Lord is to be praised.
The Basis for Praise
4 High above all the nations is the Lord.
His glory towers above the heavens.
5 Who is like the Lord our God?
He is seated on high.
6 He bends down to look at the heavens and at the earth.
7 He raises the poor from the dust.
He lifts the needy from the garbage pile
8 to seat them with nobles,
with the nobles of his people.
9 He is the one who settles the barren woman in her home
as a joyful mother of children.
Praise the Lord.
A Wife for Isaac
24 Abraham was very old, well into old age. The Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior supervisor of his house, who was in charge of everything that he had, “Please put your hand under my thigh. 3 You must swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living. 4 Instead, you shall go to my country and to my relatives and acquire a wife for my son Isaac.”
5 The servant said to him, “What if the woman is not willing to follow me to this land? In that case, should I take your son back to the land that you came from?”
6 Abraham said to him, “Let me make it very clear to you that you are not to take my son back there again. 7 The Lord, the God of heaven, took me away from my father’s house and from the land of my birth. He spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’[a] The Lord will send his angel ahead of you, so you shall find a wife for my son from there. 8 If the woman is not willing to follow you, you will be released from this oath. But under no circumstances shall you take my son back there.”
9 The servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter. 10 The servant took ten of his master’s camels and set out. He took a variety of goods from his master with him. He set out and went to Mesopotamia[b] to the city of Nahor.
Attitude Toward Various Age Groups
5 Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but encourage him as a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, with all purity.
Taking Care of Widows
3 Honor widows who are truly widows. 4 But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to be devoted to their own household and repay their parents,[a] for this is pleasing in the sight of God. 5 Now the widow who is without relatives has put her hope in God and continues in her petitions and prayers night and day. 6 But the widow who lives only for her own pleasure is dead, even while she lives. 7 Insist on these things also, in order that they may be above criticism. 8 But if anyone does not provide for his own family, and especially for his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.