Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹ ¶ Halelu-JAH. Praise, O ye slaves of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD.

² Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.

³ From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the LORD’s name is to be praised.

⁴ The LORD is high above all Gentiles and his glory above the heavens.

⁵ Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwells on high,

⁶ who humbles himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth!

⁷ He raises up the poor out of the dust and lifts the destitute out of the dunghill;

⁸ that he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.

⁹ He makes the barren woman to keep house and to be a joyful mother of sons. Halelu-JAH.

¹¹ And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.

¹² And he said, O LORD, God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, to have a good encounter this day and show mercy unto my master Abraham.

¹³ Behold, I stand here by the fountain of water, and the daughters of the men of the city come out for water:

¹⁴ And let it come to pass that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels to drink also; let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy slave Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shown mercy unto my master.

¹⁵ And it came to pass before he had done speaking that, behold, Rebekah came out (who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother) with her pitcher upon her shoulder.

¹⁶ And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, whom no man had known; and she went down to the fountain and filled her pitcher and was coming back up.

¹⁷ Then the slave ran to meet her and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.

¹⁸ And she said, Drink, my lord, and she hastened to let down her pitcher upon her hand and gave him drink.

¹⁹ And when she had finished giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also until they have finished drinking.

²⁰ And she hastened and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water and drew for all his camels.

²¹ And the man marveled at her in silence, to see whether the LORD had prospered his journey or not.

²² And it came to pass as the camels had finished drinking that the man took a golden pendant of half a shekel weight and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold

²³ and said, Whose daughter art thou? Tell me, I pray thee; is there room in thy father’s house for us to lodge in?

²⁴ And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she gave birth unto Nahor.

²⁵ She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and fodder enough and room to lodge in.

²⁶ Then the man bowed down his head and worshipped the LORD.

²⁷ And he said, Blessed be the LORD, God of my master Abraham, who has not lifted his mercy and his truth from my master, the LORD leading me in the way to the house of my master’s brethren.

⁹ Let a widow be placed on the list being not less than sixty years old, having been the wife of one man,

¹⁰ having a good testimony of good works, if she has brought up well her children, if she has exercised hospitality, if she has washed the feet of the saints, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work.

¹¹ But the younger widows refuse, for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they desire to marry,

¹² having condemnation, because they have cast off their first faith.

¹³ And reject also the idle, who have learned to wander about from house to house, and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.

¹⁴ I desire therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, govern the house, giving no occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.

¹⁵ For some are already turned back after Satan.

¹⁶ If any faithful man or woman has widows, let them maintain them and let not the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} be charged, that it may relieve those that are widows indeed.