Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 113[a]
113 Praise the Lord.
Praise, you servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord.
2 May the Lord’s name be praised
now and forevermore.
3 From east to west[b]
the Lord’s name is deserving of praise.
4 The Lord is exalted over all the nations;
his splendor reaches beyond the sky.[c]
5 Who can compare to the Lord our God,
who sits on a high throne?[d]
6 He bends down to look[e]
at the sky and the earth.
7 He raises the poor from the dirt,
and lifts up the needy from the garbage pile,[f]
8 that he might seat him with princes,
with the princes of his people.
9 He makes the barren woman of the family[g]
a happy mother of children.[h]
Praise the Lord.
11 He made the camels kneel down by the well[a] outside the city. It was evening,[b] the time when the women would go out to draw water. 12 He prayed, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, guide me today.[c] Be faithful[d] to my master Abraham. 13 Here I am, standing by the spring,[e] and the daughters of the people[f] who live in the town are coming out to draw water. 14 I will say to a young woman, ‘Please lower your jar so I may drink.’ May the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac reply, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’[g] In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.”[h]
15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah[i] with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah (Milcah was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor).[j] 16 Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever been physically intimate with her.[k] She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up. 17 Abraham’s servant[l] ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a sip of water from your jug.” 18 “Drink, my lord,” she replied, and quickly lowering[m] her jug to her hands, she gave him a drink. 19 When she had done so,[n] she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have drunk as much as they want.” 20 She quickly emptied[o] her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw more water until she had drawn enough for all his camels. 21 Silently the man watched her with interest to determine[p] if the Lord had made his journey successful[q] or not.
22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka[r] and two gold wrist bracelets weighing ten shekels[s] and gave them to her.[t] 23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked.[u] “Tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”
24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom Milcah bore to Nahor.[v] 25 We have plenty of straw and feed,” she added,[w] “and room for you[x] to spend the night.”
26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord, 27 saying, “Praised be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love[y] for my master! The Lord has led me[z] to the house[aa] of my master’s relatives!”[ab]
9 No widow should be put on the list[a] unless[b] she is at least sixty years old, was the wife of one husband,[c] 10 and has a reputation for good works: as one who has raised children,[d] practiced hospitality, washed the feet of the saints, helped those in distress—as one who has exhibited all kinds of good works.[e] 11 But do not accept younger widows on the list,[f] because their passions may lead them away from Christ[g] and they will desire to marry, 12 and so incur judgment for breaking their former pledge.[h] 13 And besides that, going around[i] from house to house they learn to be lazy,[j] and they are not only lazy, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things they should not.[k] 14 So I want younger women to marry, raise children, and manage a household, in order to give the adversary no opportunity to vilify us.[l] 15 For some have already wandered away to follow Satan.[m] 16 If a believing woman[n] has widows in her family,[o] let her help them. The church should not be burdened, so that it may help the widows who are truly in need.[p]
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