Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 113

¹ Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!) Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord!

² Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forever

³ From the rising of the sun to the going down of it and from east to west, the name of the Lord is to be praised!

⁴ The Lord is high above all nations, and His glory above the heavens!

⁵ Who is like the Lord our God, Who has His seat on high,

⁶ Who humbles Himself to regard the heavens and the earth!^(A)

⁷ [The Lord] raises the poor out of the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap and the dung hill,

⁸ That He may seat them with princes, even with the princes of His people.

⁹ He makes the barren woman to be a homemaker and a joyful mother of [spiritual] children. Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

¹¹ And he made his camels to kneel down outside the city by a well of water at the time of the evening when women go out to draw water.

¹² And he said, O Lord, God of my master Abraham, I pray You, cause me to meet with good success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.

¹³ See, I stand here by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming to draw water.

¹⁴ And let it so be that the girl to whom I say, I pray you, let down your jar that I may drink, and she replies, Drink, and I will give your camels drink also—let her be the one whom You have selected and appointed and indicated for Your servant Isaac [to be a wife to him]; and by it I shall know that You have shown kindness and faithfulness to my master.

¹⁵ Before he had finished speaking, behold, out came Rebekah, who was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, who was the wife of Nahor the brother of Abraham, with her water jar on her shoulder.

¹⁶ And the girl was very beautiful and attractive, chaste and modest, and unmarried. And she went down to the well, filled her water jar, and came up.

¹⁷ And the servant ran to meet her, and said, I pray you, let me drink a little water from your water jar.

¹⁸ And she said, Drink, my lord; and she quickly let down her jar onto her hand and gave him a drink.

¹⁹ When she had given him a drink, she said, I will draw water for your camels also, until they finish drinking.

²⁰ So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well and drew water for all his camels.

²¹ The man stood gazing at her in silence, waiting to know if the Lord had made his trip prosperous.

²² And when the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold earring or nose ring of half a shekel in weight, and for her hands two bracelets of ten shekels in weight in gold,

²³ And said, Whose daughter are you? I pray you, tell me: Is there room in your father’s house for us to lodge there?

²⁴ And she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah and [her husband] Nahor.

²⁵ She said also to him, We have both straw and provender (fodder) enough, and also room in which to lodge.

²⁶ The man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord

²⁷ And said, Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, Who has not left my master bereft and destitute of His loving-kindness and steadfastness. As for me, going on the way [of obedience and faith] the Lord led me to the house of my master’s kinsmen.

⁹ Let no one be put on the roll of widows [who are to receive church support] who is under sixty years of age or who has been the wife of more than one man;

¹⁰ And she must have a reputation for good deeds, as one who has brought up children, who has practiced hospitality to strangers [of the brotherhood], washed the feet of the saints, helped to relieve the distressed, [and] devoted herself diligently to doing good in every way.

¹¹ But refuse [to enroll on this list the] younger widows, for when they become restive and their natural desires grow strong, they withdraw themselves against Christ [and] wish to marry [again].

¹² And so they incur condemnation for having set aside and slighted their previous pledge.

¹³ Moreover, as they go about from house to house, they learn to be idlers, and not only idlers, but gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not say and talking of things they should not mention.

¹⁴ So I would have younger [widows] marry, bear children, guide the household, [and] not give opponents of the faith occasion for slander or reproach.

¹⁵ For already some [widows] have turned aside after Satan.

¹⁶ If any believing woman or believing man has [relatives or persons in the household who are] widows, let him relieve them; let the church not be burdened [with them], so that it may [be free to] assist those who are truly widows (those who are all alone and are dependent).