Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Yahweh Be Magnified
Of David.
35 Contend, O Yahweh, with those who (A)contend with me;
Fight against those who (B)fight against me.
2 Take hold of [a](C)shield and large shield
And rise up for (D)my help.
3 Draw also the spear and [b]the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me;
Say to my soul, “I am (E)your salvation.”
4 Let those be (F)ashamed and dishonored who seek my [c]life;
Let those who devise evil against me be (G)turned back and humiliated.
5 Let them be (H)like chaff before the wind,
With the angel of Yahweh driving them on.
6 Let their way be dark and (I)slippery,
With the angel of Yahweh pursuing them.
7 For (J)without cause they (K)hid their net for me;
Without cause they dug a [d]pit for my soul.
8 Let (L)destruction, which he does not know, come upon him,
And (M)let the net, which he hid, catch him;
Let him fall into it in (N)destruction.
Balaam’s Donkey and the Angel
22 But God was angry because he was going, (A)so the angel of Yahweh took his stand in the way as an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey, and his two young men were with him. 23 Then the donkey saw the angel of Yahweh standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand, and the donkey turned off from the way and went into the field; so Balaam struck the donkey to turn it back into the way. 24 Then the angel of Yahweh stood in a narrow path of the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. 25 And the donkey saw the angel of Yahweh, and it pressed itself to the wall and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall, so he struck it again. 26 And the angel of Yahweh passed on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn to the right hand or the left. 27 Then the donkey saw the angel of Yahweh and lay down under Balaam; so (B)Balaam was angry and struck the donkey with his stick. 28 And (C)Yahweh opened the mouth of the donkey, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”
32 But I want you to be free from concern. One who is (A)unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. 33 But one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, 34 and his interests have been divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit. But one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. 35 Now this I say for your own benefit, not to put a restraint upon you, but [a]to promote propriety and undistracted devotion to the Lord.
36 But if any man thinks that he is acting unbecomingly toward his virgin daughter, if she is past her youth, and if it must be so, let him do what he wishes, he does not sin; let [b]her marry. 37 But he who stands firm in his heart, [c]being under no compulsion, but has authority [d]over his own will, and has decided this in his own heart, to keep his own virgin daughter, he will do well. 38 So then both he who gives his own virgin daughter in marriage does well, and he who does not give her in marriage will do better.
39 (B)A wife is bound as long as her husband lives; but if her husband has [e]fallen asleep, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only (C)in the Lord. 40 But (D)in my opinion she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I also have the Spirit of God.
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