Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹ Praise the Eternal!
All you in the heavens, praise the Eternal;
    praise Him from the highest places!
² All you, His messengers and His armies in heaven:
    praise Him!
³ Sun, moon, and all you brilliant stars above:
    praise Him!
⁴ Highest heavens and all you waters above the heavens:
    praise Him!

²²     The Eternal created me; it happened when His work was beginning,
        one of His first acts long ago.
²³     Before time He established me,
        before the earth saw its first sunrise.
²⁴     I was born before the deep existed,
        before any springs poured out their water,
²⁵     Before the mountains were placed on their foundations,
        before the hills rolled across the land—
        yes, before all this, I was brought forth.
²⁶     When the earth was yet unformed and the fields were not yet nestled beneath the wind—
        even before the first dust of the earth—
²⁷     When He created the heavens, I was there.
        When He drew a circle in the deep, dividing the oceans and the sky, I was there.
²⁸     I was there when He established the sky.
        I was there when the springs in the deep were fortified;
²⁹     I witnessed Him lay down the shore as a boundary
        and put limits on the water
    And determine the foundations of the earth.
³⁰     All this time I was close beside Him, a master craftsman.
        Every day I was His delightful companion,
        celebrating every minute in His presence,
³¹     Elated by the world He was making and all its fine creatures;
    I was especially pleased with humanity.