Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 145
Praising God’s Greatness
A hymn of David.
1 I[a] exalt you, my God the King,
and bless your name forever and ever.(A)
2 I will bless you every day;
I will praise your name forever and ever.(B)
3 The Lord is great and is highly praised;(C)
his greatness is unsearchable.(D)
4 One generation will declare your works to the next
and will proclaim your mighty acts.(E)
5 I[b] will speak of your splendor and glorious majesty
and[c] your wondrous works.(F)
6 They will proclaim the power of your awe-inspiring acts,
and I will declare your greatness.[d](G)
7 They will give a testimony of your great goodness
and will joyfully sing of your righteousness.(H)
8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and great in faithful love.(I)
9 The Lord is good to everyone;(J)
his compassion rests on all he has made.(K)
10 All you have made will thank you, Lord;
the[e] faithful will bless you.(L)
11 They will speak of the glory of your kingdom
and will declare your might,(M)
12 informing all people of your mighty acts
and of the glorious splendor of your[f] kingdom.(N)
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom;
your rule is for all generations.(O)
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and gracious in all his actions.[g](P)
14 The Lord helps all who fall;
he raises up all who are oppressed.[h](Q)
15 All eyes look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.(R)
16 You open your hand
and satisfy the desire of every living thing.(S)
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all his acts.(T)
18 The Lord is near all who call out to him,
all who call out to him with integrity.(U)
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry for help and saves them.(V)
20 The Lord guards all those who love him,
but he destroys all the wicked.(W)
21 My mouth will declare the Lord’s praise;
let every living thing
bless his holy name forever and ever.(X)
Man
4 How beautiful you are, my darling.
How very beautiful!
Behind your veil,
your eyes are doves.(A)
Your hair is like a flock of goats
streaming down Mount Gilead.(B)
2 Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep
coming up from washing,
each one bearing twins,
and none has lost its young.[a](C)
3 Your lips are like a scarlet cord,(D)
and your mouth[b] is lovely.
Behind your veil,
your brow[c] is like a slice of pomegranate.(E)
4 Your neck is like the tower of David,(F)
constructed in layers.
A thousand shields are hung on it—
all of them shields of warriors.
5 Your breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle,(G) that feed among the lilies.
6 Until the day breaks[d]
and the shadows flee,(H)
I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh
and the hill of frankincense.(I)
7 You are absolutely beautiful,(J) my darling;
there is no imperfection in you.
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father(A) and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving
4 I always thank(B) my God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus, 5 that you were enriched in him(C) in every way, in all speech and all knowledge.(D) 6 In this way, the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you,(E) 7 so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait(F) for the revelation(G) of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will also strengthen you to the end,(H) so that you will be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.(I) 9 God is faithful;(J) you were called by him(K) into fellowship with his Son,(L) Jesus Christ our Lord.
Divisions at Corinth
10 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction. 11 For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters, by members of Chloe’s people, that there is rivalry(M) among you. 12 What I am saying is this: One of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,”(N) or “I belong to Cephas,”(O) or “I belong to Christ.”(P) 13 Is Christ divided?(Q) Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in Paul’s name? 14 I thank God[a][b] that I baptized none of you except Crispus(R) and Gaius,(S) 15 so that no one can say you were baptized in my name. 16 I did, in fact, baptize the household(T) of Stephanas;(U) beyond that, I don’t recall if I baptized anyone else. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross(V) of Christ will not be emptied of its effect.
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