Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Praise to the Creator and Preserver.
33 (A)Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones;
Praise is (B)becoming to the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the (C)lyre;
Sing praises to Him with a (D)harp of ten strings.
3 Sing to Him a (E)new song;
Play skillfully with (F)a shout of joy.
4 For the word of the Lord (G)is upright,
And all His work is done (H)in faithfulness.
5 He (I)loves righteousness and justice;
The (J)earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord.
6 By the (K)word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And (L)by the breath of His mouth (M)all their host.
7 He gathers the (N)waters of the sea together [a]as a heap;
He lays up the deeps in storehouses.
8 Let (O)all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world (P)stand in awe of Him.
9 For (Q)He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it [b]stood fast.
10 The Lord (R)nullifies the counsel of the nations;
He frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11 The (S)counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The (T)plans of His heart from generation to generation.
12 Blessed is the (U)nation whose God is the Lord,
The people whom He has (V)chosen for His own inheritance.
Abram and Lot
13 So Abram went up from Egypt to (A)the [a]Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him.
2 Now Abram was (B)very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold. 3 He went [b]on his journeys from the [c]Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, (C)between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place of the (D)altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. 5 Now (E)Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6 And (F)the land could not [d]sustain them [e]while dwelling together, (G)for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. 7 (H)And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now (I)the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land.
8 (J)So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.” 10 Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the [f](K)valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord (L)destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like (M)the garden of the Lord, (N)like the land of Egypt as you go to (O)Zoar. 11 So Lot chose for himself all the [g]valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. 12 Abram [h]settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot [i]settled in (P)the cities of the [j]valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom. 13 Now (Q)the men of Sodom were wicked [k]exceedingly and (R)sinners against the Lord.
14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “(S)Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, (T)northward and southward and eastward and westward; 15 (U)for all the land which you see, (V)I will give it to you and to your [l]descendants forever. 16 I will make your [m]descendants (W)as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your [n]descendants can also be numbered. 17 Arise, (X)walk about the land through its length and breadth; for (Y)I will give it to you.” 18 Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the [o](Z)oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built (AA)an altar to the Lord.
17 These are (A)springs without water and mists driven by a storm, (B)for whom the [a]black darkness has been reserved. 18 For speaking out (C)arrogant words of (D)vanity they (E)entice by fleshly desires, by (F)sensuality, those who barely (G)escape from the ones who live in error, 19 promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for (H)by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. 20 For if, after they have (I)escaped the defilements of the world by (J)the knowledge of the (K)Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again (L)entangled in them and are overcome, (M)the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 (N)For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from (O)the holy commandment (P)handed on to them. 22 [b]It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “(Q)A dog returns to its own vomit,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.