Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

David’s Psalm of praise.

Aleph

¹ ¶ I will extol thee, my God, my king, and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.

Beth

² Each day will I bless thee, and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.

Gimel

³ Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.

Daleth

⁴ One generation shall praise thy works to another and shall declare thy mighty acts.

He

⁵ I will speak of the beauty of the glory of thy majesty and of thy wondrous works.

Vau

⁶ And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts, and I will declare thy greatness.

Zain

⁷ They shall proclaim the memory of thy great goodness and shall sing of thy righteousness.

Cheth

⁸ The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and of great mercy.

Teth

⁹ The LORD is good to all; and his tender mercies shine over all his works.

Jod

¹⁰ ¶ Let all thy works praise thee, O LORD, and thy merciful ones bless thee.

Caph

¹¹ They speak of the glory of thy kingdom and talk of thy power,

Lamed

¹² to make known to the sons of Adam his mighty acts and the glory of the magnificence of his kingdom.

Mem

¹³ Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages, and thy dominion endures throughout all generations.

Samech

¹⁴ The LORD upholds all that fall and raises up all those that are oppressed.

Ain

¹⁵ The eyes of all wait upon thee, and thou givest them their food in due season.

Pe

¹⁶ Thou dost open thine hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

Tzaddi

¹⁷ The LORD is righteous in all his ways and merciful in all his works.

Koph

¹⁸ The LORD is near unto all those that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

Resh

¹⁹ He will fulfil the desire of those that fear him; he also will hear their cry and will save them.

Schin

²⁰ The LORD preserves all those that love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

Tau

²¹ My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD, and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

4 ¶ Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes within thy locks; thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Mount Gilead.

² Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; of which every one bear twins, and none is barren among them.

³ Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is lovely; thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.

⁴ Thy neck is like the tower of David built for teaching, upon which there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.

⁵ Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which are fed among the lilies.

⁶ Until the day breaks, and the shadows flee away, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense.

⁷ Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.

⁸ ¶ With me from Lebanon, my spouse, thou shalt come with me from Lebanon; thou shalt look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions’ dens, from the mountains of the leopards.

³ Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴ I thank my God always on your behalf for the grace of God which is given you in Christ Jesus,

⁵ that in every thing ye are enriched in him in all word and in all knowledge,

⁶ with which the testimony of the Christ was confirmed in you,

⁷ so that ye lack nothing in any gift, waiting for the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

⁸ who shall also confirm that ye shall remain unimpeachable unto the end, in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁹ God is faithful, by whom ye were called into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹⁰ ¶ Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you, but that ye be perfect, joined together in the same understanding and in the same perception.

¹¹ For it has been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by those of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.

¹² In other words, that each one of you says, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ.

¹³ Is the Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized into the name of Paul?

¹⁴ ¶ I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius,

¹⁵ lest any should say that ye were baptized into my name.

¹⁶ And I baptized also the household of Stephanas; besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.

¹⁷ ¶ For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross {Gr. stauros – stake} of Christ should be made void.