Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Praise for the Lord’s Kindness
113 Praise the Lord!
Praise him, you servants of the Lord;
praise the name of the Lord.
2 The Lord’s name ·should [is to] be ·praised [blessed]
now and forever.
3 The Lord’s name ·should [is to] be praised
from where the sun rises to where it sets.
4 The Lord is ·supreme [exalted] over all the nations [99:2];
his glory [C God’s manifest presence] ·reaches to the skies [is over the heavens].
5 ·No one [L Who…?] is like the Lord our God,
who ·rules [L is seated/enthroned] ·from heaven [on high],
6 who ·bends [stoops] down to look
at the ·skies [heavens] and the earth.
7 The Lord ·lifts [raises] the poor from the ·dirt [dust]
and ·takes [exalts] the ·helpless [needy] from the ashes.
8 He ·seats [enthrones] them with princes,
the princes of his people [1 Sam. 2:8; Luke 1:52].
9 He gives ·children to the woman who has none [L the barren woman a home]
and makes her ·a happy mother [L joyful with children].
Praise the Lord!
A Wife for Isaac
24 Abraham was now very old, ·along in years [L going in days], and the Lord had blessed him in every way. 2 Abraham said to his oldest servant [L in his house], who was in charge of everything he owned, “Put your hand under my ·leg [L thigh; C a euphemism for male genitalia, expressing commitment to keep a promise]. 3 ·Make a promise to me before [Swear to me by] the Lord, the God of heaven and [L the God of] earth. Don’t get a wife for my son from the ·Canaanite girls [L daughters of the Canaanites] who live around here. 4 Instead, go back to my country, to the land of my relatives, and get a wife for my son Isaac.”
5 The servant said to him, “·What if [Perhaps] this woman does not want to return with me to this land? Then, should I take your son with me back to your homeland?”
6 Abraham said to him, “No! ·Don’t take [L Be careful not to take] my son back there. 7 The Lord, the God of heaven, brought me from the home of my father and the land of my relatives. And he ·promised [swore to] me, ‘I will give this land to your ·descendants [L seed].’ The Lord will send his ·angel [messenger] before you to help you get a wife for my son there. 8 If the ·girl [woman] won’t come back with you, you will be ·free [declared innocent] from this promise. But you must not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant put his hand under his master’s ·leg [L thigh; 24:2] and ·made a promise [swore] to Abraham about this.
10 The servant took ten of Abraham’s camels and left, carrying with him many ·different kinds of beautiful gifts [L goods of his master]. He went to ·northwestern Mesopotamia [L Aram-Naharaim; C a region near the Habor and Euphrates rivers, about a month’s journey away] to ·Nahor’s city [or the city of Nahor].
Rules for Living with Others
5 Do not ·speak angrily to [rebuke; speak harshly to] an older man, but ·plead with [exhort; encourage] him as if he were your father. Treat younger men like brothers, 2 older women like mothers, and younger women like sisters. ·Always treat them in a pure way [L …with complete purity].
3 ·Take care of [Provide support for; or Honor; Show respect to; C both honor and financial help are likely in mind] widows who are truly widows. 4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to ·do their duty to [or practice their piety/godliness toward] their own ·family [household] and to repay their parents or grandparents. [L For] That pleases God. 5 The true widow, who is all alone, puts her hope in God and continues ·to pray night and day for God’s help [L in petitions and prayers night and day]. 6 But the widow who ·uses her life to please herself [lives in luxury; is self-indulgent] is really dead while she is alive. 7 ·Tell [Command; Instruct] the believers to do these things so that ·no one can criticize them [they may be blameless/above reproach]. 8 Whoever does not care for his ·own relatives [L own], especially his own family members, has ·turned against [denied; rejected] the faith and is worse than ·someone who does not believe in God [L an unbeliever].
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