Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Jehovah the psalmist’s portion in life and deliverer in death.
Michtam of David.
16 Preserve me, O God; for in thee do I take refuge.
2 O my soul, thou hast said unto Jehovah, Thou art [a]my Lord:
I have no good beyond thee.
3 [b]As for the saints that are in the earth,
[c]They are the excellent in whom is all my delight.
4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied that give gifts for another god:
Their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer,
Nor take their names upon my lips.
5 Jehovah is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup:
Thou maintainest my lot.
6 The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places;
Yea, I have a goodly heritage.
7 I will bless Jehovah, who hath given me counsel;
Yea, my [d]heart instructeth me in the night seasons.
8 I have set Jehovah always before me:
Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth:
My flesh also shall dwell [e]in safety.
10 For thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol;
Neither wilt thou suffer thy [f]holy one to see [g]corruption.
11 Thou wilt show me the path of life:
In thy presence is fulness of joy;
In thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
9 What is thy beloved more than another beloved,
O thou fairest among women?
What is thy beloved more than another beloved,
That thou dost so adjure us?
10 My beloved is white and ruddy,
[a]The chiefest among ten thousand.
11 His head is as the most fine gold;
His locks are [b]bushy, and black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves beside the water-brooks,
Washed with milk, and [c]fitly set.
13 His cheeks are as a bed of [d]spices,
As [e]banks of sweet herbs:
His lips are as lilies, dropping liquid myrrh.
14 His hands are as [f]rings of gold set with [g]beryl:
His body is as [h]ivory work [i]overlaid with sapphires.
15 His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold:
His aspect is like Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.
16 His [j]mouth is most sweet;
Yea, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved, and this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem.
6 Whither is thy beloved gone,
O thou fairest among women?
Whither hath thy beloved turned him,
That we may seek him with thee?
2 My beloved is gone down to his garden,
To the beds of [k]spices,
To feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.
3 I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine:
He feedeth his flock among the lilies.
15 Now I make known unto you brethren, the [a]gospel which I [b]preached unto you, which also ye received, wherein also ye stand, 2 by which also ye are saved, if ye hold fast [c]the word which I [d]preached unto you, except ye believed [e]in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I received: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 and that he was buried; and that he hath been raised on the third day according to the scriptures; 5 and that he appeared to Cephas; then to the twelve; 6 then he appeared to above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain until now, but some are fallen asleep; 7 then he appeared to [f]James; then to all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as to the child untimely born, he appeared to me also. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not found [g]vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11 Whether then it be I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.
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