Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A special Davidic Psalm.[a]
Trust in the Face of Death
16 Keep me safe, God,
for I take refuge in you.
2 I told the Lord,
“You are my master,[b]
I have nothing good apart from you.”
3 As for the saints that are in the land,
they are noble, and all my delight is in them.
4 Those who hurry after another god[c] will have many sorrows;
I will not present[d] their drink offerings of blood,
nor will my lips speak[e] their names.
5 The Lord is my inheritance and my cup;
you support my lot.
6 The boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places for me;
truly, I have a beautiful heritage.
7 I will bless the Lord who has counseled me;
indeed, my conscience instructs[f] me during the night.
8 I have set the Lord before me continuously;
because he stands at my right hand, I will stand firm.[g]
9 Therefore, my heart is glad,
my whole being[h] rejoices,
and my body will dwell securely.
10 For you will not leave my soul in Sheol,[i]
you will not allow your holy one to experience corruption.[j]
11 You cause me to know the path of life;
in your presence is joyful abundance,
at your right hand there are pleasures forever.
The Young Women
9 What is so special about your beloved,[a]
most beautiful of women?
What is so special about your beloved,
that you charge us like this?
The Loved One
10 My beloved is dazzling,
with a dark and healthy complexion,
outstanding among ten thousand.
11 His head is pure gold,
his hair is wavy, black like a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves
by streams of water,
bathed in milk,
mounted like jewels.
13 His cheeks are like beds of spices,
like towers of perfume.
His lips are lilies,
dripping with liquid myrrh.
14 His hands are rods of gold,
set with beryl.
His stomach is carved ivory,
inlaid with sapphires.[b]
15 His legs are pillars of marble
set on bases of pure gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon,
choice like its cedars.
16 His mouth[c] is sweetness,
and all of him is desirable.
This is my beloved, this is my friend,
young women of Jerusalem!
The Young Women
6 Where did your beloved go,
most beautiful of women?
Where did your beloved turn,
so we may look for him with you?
The Loved One
The Resurrection of the Messiah
15 Now I’m making known to you, brothers, the gospel that I proclaimed to you, which you accepted, on which you have taken your stand, 2 and by which you are also being saved if you hold firmly to the message I proclaimed to you—unless, of course, your faith was worthless.
3 For I passed on to you the most important points that[a] I received: The Messiah[b] died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 he was buried, he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures—and is still alive!— 5 and he was seen by Cephas,[c] and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.[d] 7 Next he was seen by James, then by all the apostles, 8 and finally he was seen by me, as though I were born abnormally late.
9 For I am the least of the apostles and not even fit to be called an apostle because I persecuted God’s church. 10 But by God’s grace I am what I am, and his grace shown to me was not wasted. Instead, I worked harder than all the others—not I, of course, but God’s grace that was with me. 11 So, whether it was I or the others, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
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