Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

81 A psalm for Asaph. God hath stood in the congregation of gods: and being in the midst of them he judgeth gods.

² How long will you judge unjustly: and accept the persons of the wicked?

³ Judge for the needy and fatherless: do justice to the humble and the poor.

⁴ Rescue the poor; and deliver the needy out of the hand of the sinner.

⁵ They have not known nor understood: they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth shall be moved.

⁶ I have said: You are gods and all of you the sons of the most High.

⁷ But you like men shall die: and shall fall like one of the princes.

⁸ Arise, O God, judge thou the earth: for thou shalt inherit among all the nations.

24 Now Abraham was old; and advanced in age: and the Lord had blessed him in all things.

² And he said to the elder servant of his house, who was ruler over all he had: Put thy hand under my thigh,

³ That I may make thee swear by the Lord the God of heaven and earth, that thou take not a wife for my son, of the daughters of the Chanaanites, among whom I dwell:

⁴ But that thou go to my own country and kindred, and take a wife from thence for my son Isaac.

⁵ The servant answered: If the woman will not come with me into this land, must I bring thy son back again to the place, from whence thou camest out?

⁶ And Abraham said: Beware thou never bring my son back again thither.

⁷ The Lord God of heaven, who took me out of my father's house, and out of my native country, who spoke to me, and swore to me, saying: To thy seed will I give this land: he will send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take from thence a wife for my son.

⁸ But if the woman will not follow thee, thou shalt not be bound by the oath; only bring not my son back thither again.

⁹ The servant therefore put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his lord, and swore to him upon this word.

¹⁰ And he took ten camels of his master's herd, and departed, carrying something of all his goods with him, and he set forward and went on to Mesopotamia to the city of Nachor.

¹¹ And when he had made the camels lie down without the town near a well of water in the evening, at the time when women are wont to come out to draw water, he said:

¹² O Lord the God of my master Abraham, meet me to day, I beseech thee, and shew kindness to my master Abraham.

¹³ Behold I stand nigh the spring of water, and the daughters of the inhabitants of this city will come out to draw water.

¹⁴ Now, therefore, the maid to whom I shall say: Let down thy pitcher that I may drink: and she shall answer, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let it be the same whom thou hast provided for thy servant Isaac: and by this I shall understand, that thou hast shewn kindness to my master.

¹⁵ He had not yet ended these words within himself, and behold Rebecca came out, the daughter of Bathuel, son of Melcha, wife to Nachor the brother of Abraham, having a pitcher on her shoulder:

¹⁶ An exceeding comely maid, and a most beautiful virgin, and not known to man: and she went down to the spring, and filled her pitcher and was coming back.

¹⁷ And the servant ran to meet her, and said: Give me a little water to drink of thy pitcher.

¹⁸ And she answered: Drink, my lord. And quickly she let down the pitcher upon her arm, and gave him drink.

¹⁹ And when he had drunk, she said: I will draw water for thy camels also, till they all drink.

²⁰ And pouring out the pitcher into the troughs, she ran back to the well to draw water: and having drawn she gave to all the camels.

²¹ But he musing beheld her with silence, desirous to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.

²² And after that the camels had drunk, the man took out golden earrings, weighing two sicles: and as many bracelets of ten sicles weight.

²³ And he said to her: Whose daughter art thou? tell me: is there any place in thy father's house to lodge?

²⁴ And she answered: I am the daughter of Bathuel, the son of Melcha, whom she bore to Nachor.

²⁵ And she said moreover to him: We have good store of both straw and hay, and a large place to lodge in.

²⁶ The man bowed himself down, and adored the Lord,

²⁷ Saying: Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not taken away his mercy and truth from my master, and hath brought me the straight way into the house of my master's brother.

¹ The ancient to the lady Elect, and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth,

² For the sake of the truth which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.

³ Grace be with you, mercy, and peace from God the Father, and from Christ Jesus the Son of the Father; in truth and charity.

⁴ I was exceeding glad, that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.

⁵ And now I beseech thee, lady, not as writing a new commandment to thee, but that which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another.

⁶ And this is charity, that we walk according to his commandments. For this is the commandment, that, as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in the same:

⁷ For many seducers are gone out into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh: this is a seducer and an antichrist.

⁸ Look to yourselves, that you lose not the things which you have wrought: but that you may receive a full reward.

⁹ Whosoever revolteth, and continueth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that continueth in the doctrine, the same hath both the Father and the Son.

¹⁰ If any man come to you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into the house nor say to him, God speed you.

¹¹ For he that saith unto him, God speed you, communicateth with his wicked works.

¹² Having more things to write unto you, I would not by paper and ink: for I hope that I shall be with you, and speak face to face: that your joy may be full.

¹³ The children of thy sister Elect salute thee.