Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Praise to God the King
A song of praise. Of David.
145 I praise your greatness, my God the King.
I will praise you forever and ever.
2 I will praise you every day.
I will praise you forever and ever.
3 The Lord is great. He is worthy of our praise.
No one can understand how great he is.
4 Parents will tell their children what you have done.
They will retell your mighty acts,
5 wonderful majesty and glory.
And I will think about your miracles.
6 They will tell about the amazing things you do.
I will tell how great you are.
7 They will remember your great goodness.
They will sing about your fairness.
8 The Lord is kind and shows mercy.
He does not become angry quickly but is full of love.
9 The Lord is good to everyone.
He is merciful to all he has made.
10 Lord, everything you have made will praise you.
Those who belong to you will bless you.
11 They will tell about the glory of your kingdom.
They will speak about your power.
12 Then everyone will know what powerful things you do.
They will know about the glory and majesty of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom will continue forever.
And you will be King from now on.
The Lord will keep his promises.
With love he takes care of all he has made.
14 The Lord helps those who have been defeated.
He takes care of those who are in trouble.
15 All living things look to you for food.
And you give it to them at the right time.
16 You open your hand,
and you satisfy all living things.
17 Everything the Lord does is right.
With love he takes care of all he has made.
18 The Lord is close to everyone who prays to him,
to all who truly pray to him.
19 He gives those who fear him what they want.
He listens when they cry, and he saves them.
20 The Lord protects everyone who loves him.
But he will destroy the wicked.
21 I will praise the Lord.
Let everyone praise his holy name forever.
The Man Speaks to the Woman
4 How beautiful you are, my darling!
Oh, you are beautiful!
Your eyes behind your veil are like doves.
Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down Mount Gilead.
2 Your teeth are white like newly-sheared sheep
just coming from their bath.
Each one has a twin.
None of them is alone.
3 Your lips are like red silk thread.
Your mouth is lovely.
Your cheeks behind your veil
are like slices of a pomegranate.
4 Your neck looks like David’s tower.
The tower was built with rows of stones.
A thousand shields hang on its walls.
Each shield belongs to a strong soldier.
5 Your breasts are like two fawns.
They are like twins of a gazelle,
eating among the lilies.
6 Until the day dawns
and the shadows disappear,
I will go to that mountain of myrrh.
And I will go to that hill of incense.
7 My darling, everything about you is beautiful.
There is nothing at all wrong with you.
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride.
Come with me from Lebanon.
Come from the top of Mount Amana,
from the tops of Mount Senir and Mount Hermon.
Come from the lions’ dens
and from the leopards’ hills.
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I always thank my God for you because of the grace that God has given you in Christ Jesus. 5 In Jesus you have been blessed in every way, in all your speaking and in all your knowledge. 6 The truth about Christ has been proved in you. 7 So you have every gift from God while you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to come again. 8 Jesus will keep you strong until the end. He will keep you strong, so that there will be no wrong in you on the day our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 9 God is faithful. He is the One who has called you to share life with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Problems in the Church
10 I beg you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I beg that all of you agree with each other, so that you will not be divided into groups. I beg that you be completely joined together by having the same kind of thinking and the same purpose. 11 My brothers, some people from Chloe’s family have told me that there are arguments among you. 12 This is what I mean: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another says, “I follow Apollos”; another says, “I follow Peter”; and another says, “I follow Christ.” 13 Christ cannot be divided into different groups! Did Paul die on the cross for you? No! Were you baptized in the name of Paul? No! 14 I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius. 15 I am thankful, because now no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I also baptized the family of Stephanas. But I do not remember that I myself baptized any others.) 17 Christ did not give me the work of baptizing people. He gave me the work of preaching the Good News, and he sent me to preach the Good News without using words of worldly wisdom. If I used worldly wisdom to tell the Good News, the cross[a] of Christ would lose its power.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.