Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 113
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise, O you servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord.
2 Blessed be the name of the Lord
from this time forth and for evermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to its going down,
the Lord’s name is to be praised.
4 The Lord is high above all nations,
and His glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the Lord our God,
who dwells on high,
6 who looks down on the things
that are in heaven and on the earth?
7 He raises up the poor out of the dust
and lifts the needy out of the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes,
even with the princes of His people.
9 He gives the barren woman a dwelling,
making her the joyful mother of children.
Praise the Lord!
Isaac and Rebekah
24 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 So Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who was in charge over all that he had, “Please, place your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live. 4 But you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”
5 Then the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?”
6 Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. 7 The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father’s family and from the land of my relatives, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give this land,’ He shall send His angel before you and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8 If the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from my oath. Only do not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.
10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, for all the goods of his master were in his hand. And he arose and went to the city of Nahor in Aram Naharaim.
Duties Toward Others
5 Do not rebuke an elder, but exhort him as a father, the younger men as brothers, 2 the elder women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, with complete purity.
3 Honor widows that are widows indeed. 4 But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them learn first to show piety at home and to repay their parents. For this is good and acceptable before God. 5 Now she who is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusts in God, and continues in supplications and prayers night and day. 6 But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives. 7 And these things command, that they may be blameless. 8 But if any do not care for their own, and especially for those of their own house, they have denied the faith and are worse than unbelievers.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.