Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Praise the Lord from heaven,
    you that live in the heights above.
² Praise him, all his angels,
    all his heavenly armies.

³ Praise him, sun and moon;
    praise him, shining stars.
⁴ Praise him, highest heavens,
    and the waters above the sky.^[a]

⁵ Let them all praise the name of the Lord!
He commanded, and they were created;
⁶     by his command they were fixed in their places forever,
    and they cannot disobey.^[b]

⁷ Praise the Lord from the earth,
    sea monsters and all ocean depths;
⁸ lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
    strong winds that obey his command.

⁹ Praise him, hills and mountains,
    fruit trees and forests;
¹⁰ all animals, tame and wild,
    reptiles and birds.

¹¹ Praise him, kings and all peoples,
    princes and all other rulers;
¹² young women and young men,
    old people and children too.

¹³ Let them all praise the name of the Lord!
His name is greater than all others;
    his glory is above earth and heaven.
¹⁴ He made his nation strong,
    so that all his people praise him—
    the people of Israel, so dear to him.

Praise the Lord!

^22 (A)“The Lord created me first of all,
    the first of his works, long ago.
²³ I was made in the very beginning,
    at the first, before the world began.
²⁴ I was born before the oceans,
    when there were no springs of water.
²⁵ I was born before the mountains,
    before the hills were set in place,
²⁶ before God made the earth and its fields
    or even the first handful of soil.
^27 (B)I was there when he set the sky in place,
    when he stretched the horizon across the ocean,
²⁸ when he placed the clouds in the sky,
    when he opened the springs of the ocean
²⁹ and ordered the waters of the sea
    to rise no further than he said.
I was there when he laid the earth's foundations.
³⁰ I was beside him like an architect,^[a]
    I was his daily source of joy,
    always happy in his presence—
³¹ happy with the world
    and pleased with the human race.