Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
To the Overcomer upon Gittith, A Psalm of Asaph.
1 ¶ Sing aloud unto God our strength; make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
2 Take the song and play the timbrel, the harp of joy with the psaltery.
3 Blow the shofar in the new moon in the time appointed on our solemn feast day.
4 For this is a statute of Israel and an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5 This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt where I heard a language that I did not understand.
6 I removed his shoulder from the burden; his hands were delivered from working with clay.
7 Thou didst call in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder; I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.
8 ¶ Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee; O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me,
9 no strange god shall be in thee, neither shalt thou worship any strange god.
10 I am the LORD thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt; open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 But my people did not hearken to my voice, and Israel did not love me.
12 So I gave them up unto the hardness of their heart, and they walked in their own counsels.
13 Oh, if my people would hearken unto me and Israel would walk in my ways!
14 I would soon subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their adversaries.
15 The haters of the LORD would have submitted themselves unto him, and their time would endure for ever.
16 And God would have fed them also the finest of the wheat, and with honey out of the rock I would have satisfied thee.
24 ¶ And Abraham was old and well stricken in age, and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.
2 And Abraham said unto his eldest slave of his house, who ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh,
3 and I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of the heavens and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell;
4 but thou shalt go unto my country and to my kindred and take a wife unto my son Isaac.
5 And the slave said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land, must I therefore bring thy son again unto the land from which thou didst come?
6 And Abraham said unto him, Beware that thou not bring my son there again.
7 The LORD God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred and who spoke unto me and swore unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from there.
8 And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be free from this my oath; only do not bring my son there again.
9 Then the slave put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning that matter.
10 ¶ And the slave took ten camels of the camels of his master and departed with the best of what his master had in his hand; and he arose and went to Aram-naharaim, unto the city of Nahor.
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.
1 ¶ The elder unto the chosen lady and her sons, whom I love in the truth, and not I only, but also all those that have known the truth,
2 for the truth’s sake, which abides in us and shall be with us for ever.
3 Grace be with you, mercy and peace, from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and charity.
4 I have rejoiced greatly, for I have found of thy sons that they walk in the truth, as we have received the commandment from the Father.
5 ¶ And now I beseech thee, lady, (not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning) that we love one another.
6 And this is charity, that we walk after his commandment. And this is the commandment, That ye walk in him, as ye have heard from the beginning.
7 ¶ For many deceivers are entered into the world, who do not confess Jesus Christ coming in flesh. This same is a deceiver and antichrist.
8 Look to yourselves, that we not lose those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a fulfilled reward.
9 Whosoever rebels and does not abide in the doctrine of the Christ, does not have God. He that abides in the doctrine of the Christ, the same has the Father and the Son.
10 ¶ If anyone comes unto you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house neither say unto him, Welcome:
11 For he that says unto him, Welcome, is partaker of his evil deeds.
12 ¶ Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink, but I trust to come unto you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.
13 The sons of thy chosen sister greet thee. Amen.
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