Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 101[a]
A psalm of David.
101 I will sing about loyalty and justice.
To you, O Lord, I will sing praises.
2 I will walk[b] in the way of integrity.
When will you come to me?
I will conduct my business with integrity in the midst of my palace.[c]
3 I will not even consider doing what is dishonest.[d]
I hate doing evil;[e]
I will have no part of it.[f]
4 I will have nothing to do with a perverse person;[g]
I will not permit[h] evil.
5 I will destroy anyone who slanders his neighbor in secret.
I will not tolerate anyone who has a haughty demeanor and an arrogant attitude.[i]
6 I will favor the honest people of the land,[j]
and allow them to live with me.[k]
Those who walk in the way of integrity will attend me.[l]
7 Deceitful people will not live in my palace.[m]
Liars will not be welcome in my presence.[n]
8 Each morning I will destroy all the wicked people in the land,
and remove all evildoers from the city of the Lord.
Solomon Demonstrates His Wisdom
16 Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 One of the women said, “My master, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was with me in the house. 18 Then three days after I had my baby, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one else in the house except the two of us.[a] 19 This woman’s child suffocated[b] during the night when she rolled[c] on top of him. 20 She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your servant was sleeping. She put him in her arms, and put her dead son in my arms. 21 I got up in the morning to nurse my son, and there[d] he was, dead! But when I examined him carefully in the morning, I realized it was not my baby.”[e] 22 The other woman said, “No! My son is alive; your son is dead!” But the first woman replied, “No, your son is dead; my son is alive.” Each presented her case before the king.[f]
23 The king said, “One says, ‘My son is alive; your son is dead,’ while the other says, ‘No, your son is dead; my son is alive.’” 24 The king ordered, “Get me a sword.” So they placed a sword before the king. 25 The king then said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to one and half to the other!” 26 The real mother[g] spoke up to the king, for her motherly instincts were awakened.[h] She said, “My master, give her the living child! Whatever you do, don’t kill him!”[i] But the other woman said, “Neither one of us will have him. Let them cut him in two!” 27 The king responded, “Give the first woman the living child; don’t kill him. She is the mother.” 28 When all Israel heard about the judicial decision which the king had rendered, they respected[j] the king, for they realized[k] that he possessed divine wisdom[l] to make judicial decisions.
The Appointment of the First Seven Deacons
6 Now in those[a] days, when the disciples were growing in number,[b] a complaint arose on the part of the Greek-speaking Jews[c] against the native Hebraic Jews,[d] because their widows[e] were being overlooked[f] in the daily distribution of food.[g] 2 So the twelve[h] called[i] the whole group[j] of the disciples together and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to wait on tables.[k] 3 But carefully select from among you, brothers,[l] seven[m] men who are well-attested,[n] full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge[o] of this necessary task.[p] 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 The[q] proposal pleased the entire group, so[r] they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, with[s] Philip,[t] Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a Gentile convert to Judaism[u] from Antioch. 6 They stood these men before the apostles, who prayed[v] and placed[w] their hands on them. 7 The word of God continued to spread,[x] the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly, and a large group[y] of priests became obedient to the faith.
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