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Readings and
Psalms |
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Any suitable translation may
be used. |
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Old Testament and Apocrypha
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Genesis 1.26-28
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Then God said, 'Let us make
humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let
them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the
birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the
wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing
that creeps upon the earth.'
So God created humankind in his image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and
multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have
dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the
air and over every living thing that moves upon the
earth.' |
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Song of Solomon 2.10-13; 8.6,7
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My beloved speaks and says to
me:
'Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away;
for now the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtle dove
is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away.'
Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm;
for love is strong as death,
passion fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
a raging flame.
Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If one offered for love
all the wealth of one's house,
it would be utterly scorned. |
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Jeremiah 31.31-3
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The days are surely coming, says
the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of
Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the
covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them
by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt - a
covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says
the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with
the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will
put my law within them, and I will write it on their
hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my
people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to
each other, 'Know the Lord', for they shall all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for
I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no
more. |
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Tobit 8.4-8
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When the parents had gone out
and shut the door of the room, Tobias got out of bed and
said to Sarah, 'Sister, get up, and let us pray and implore
our Lord that he grant us mercy and safety.' So she got up,
and they began to pray and implore that they might be kept
safe. Tobias began by saying,
'Blessed are you, O God of our ancestors,
and blessed is your name in all generations for
ever.
Let the heavens and the whole creation bless you for
ever.
You made Adam, and for him you made his wife Eve
as a helper and support.
From the two of them the human race has sprung.
You said, "It is not good that the man should be
alone;
let us make a helper for him like himself."
I now am taking this kinswoman of mine,
not because of lust,
but with sincerity.
Grant that she and I may find mercy
and that we may grow old together.'
And they both said, 'Amen, amen.' |
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Epistle
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Romans 7.1,2,9-18
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Do you not know, brothers and
sisters - for I am speaking to those who know the law -
that the law is binding on a person only during that
person's lifetime? Thus a married woman is bound by the law
to her husband as long as he lives; but if her husband
dies, she is discharged from the law concerning the
husband.
I was once alive apart from the law, but when the
commandment came, sin revived and I died, and the very
commandment that promised life proved to be death to me.
For sin, seizing an opportunity in the commandment,
deceived me and through it killed me. So the law is holy,
and the commandment is holy and just and good.
Did what is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It
was sin, working death in me through what is good, in order
that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the
commandment might become sinful beyond measure.
For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the
flesh, sold into slavery under sin. I do not understand my
own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very
thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that
the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it,
but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good
dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is
right, but I cannot do it. |
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Romans 8.31-35,37-39
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What then are we to say about
these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who
did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of
us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who
will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who
justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died,
yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who
indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the
love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution,
or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors
through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things
present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor
depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to
separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our
Lord. |
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Romans 12.1,2,9-13
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I appeal to you therefore,
brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present
your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to
God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed
to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God -
what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what
is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one
another in showing honour. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in
spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in
suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of
the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. |
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Romans 15.1-3,5-7,13
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We who are strong ought to put
up with the failings of the weak, and not to please
ourselves. Each of us must please our neighbour for the
good purpose of building up the neighbour. For Christ did
not please himself; but, as it is written, 'The insults of
those who insult you have fallen on me.'
May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you
to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with
Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice
glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed
you, for the glory of God.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in
believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of
the Holy Spirit. |
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1 Corinthians 13
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If I speak in the tongues of
mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy
gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers,
and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I
have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have
love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and
if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have
love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or
boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own
way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice
in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all
things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all
things.
Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to
an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge,
it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we
prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the
partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke
like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a
child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish
ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will
see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know
fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith,
hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of
these is love. |
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Ephesians 3.14-end
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I bow my knees before the
Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes
its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his
glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your
inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ
may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being
rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the
power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the
breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the
love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be
filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to
accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or
imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen. |
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Ephesians 4.1-6
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I, the prisoner in the Lord, beg
you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have
been called, with all humility and gentleness, with
patience, bearing with one another in love, making every
effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were
called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one
faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above
all and through all and in all. |
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Ephesians 5.21-end
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Be subject to one another out of
reverence for Christ.
Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is
the head of the church, the body of which he is the
Saviour. Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also
wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church
and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by
cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as
to present the church to himself in splendour, without a
spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind - yes, so that she
may be holy and without blemish. In the same way, husbands
should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who
loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own
body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as
Christ does for the church, because we are members of his
body. 'For this reason a man will leave his father and
mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become
one flesh.' This is a great mystery, and I am applying it
to Christ and the church. Each of you, however, should love
his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her
husband. |
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Philippians 4.4-9
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Rejoice in the Lord always;
again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to
everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything,
but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And
the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will
guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is
honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is
pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any
excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think
about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have
learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God
of peace will be with you. |
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Colossians 3.12-17
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As God's chosen ones, holy and
beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness,
humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another
and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive
each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also
must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which
binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the
peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you
were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word
of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one
another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts
sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And
whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name
of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through
him. |
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1 John 3.18-end
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Little children, let us love,
not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this
we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure
our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for
God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness
before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask,
because we obey his commandments and do what pleases
him.
And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the
name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as
he has commanded us. All who obey his commandments abide in
him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he
abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us. |
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1 John 4.7-12
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Beloved, let us love one
another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is
born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not
know God, for God is love. God's love was revealed among us
in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that
we might live through him. In this is love, not that we
loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the
atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us
so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever
seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his
love is perfected in us. |
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Gospel
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Matthew 5.1-10
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When Jesus saw the crowds, he
went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples
came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them,
saying:
'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be
comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the
earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive
mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see
God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called
children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness'
sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' |
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Matthew 7.21,24-end
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Jesus said, 'Not everyone who
says to me, "Lord, Lord", will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only one who does the will of my Father in
heaven.
'Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on
them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat
on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been
founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine
and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who
built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods
came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and
it fell - and great was its fall!'
Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the
crowds were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them
as one having authority, and not as their scribes. |
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Mark 10.6-9,13-16
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Jesus said, 'From the beginning
of creation, "God made them male and female." "For this
reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be
joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." So
they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God
has joined together, let no one separate.'
People were bringing little children to him in order that
he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to
them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to
them, 'Let the little children come to me; do not stop
them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God
belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the
kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.' And
he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and
blessed them. |
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John 2.1-11
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On the third day there was a
wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was
there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the
wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said
to him, 'They have no wine.' And Jesus said to her, 'Woman,
what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet
come.' His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he
tells you.' Now standing there were six stone water-jars
for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty
or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, 'Fill the jars with
water.' And they filled them up to the brim. He said to
them, 'Now draw some out, and take it to the chief
steward.' So they took it. When the steward tasted the
water that had become wine, and did not know where it came
from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew),
the steward called the bridegroom and said to him,
'Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior
wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept
the good wine until now.' Jesus did this, the first of his
signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his
disciples believed in him. |
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John 15.1-8
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Jesus said to his disciples: 'I
am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He
removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every
branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more
fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I
have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as
the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in
the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the
vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in
them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do
nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a
branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into
the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words
abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be
done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear
much fruit and become my disciples.' |
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John 15.9-17
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Jesus said to his disciples: 'As
the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my
love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my
love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and
abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that
my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be
complete.
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I
have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay
down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if
you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any
longer, because the servant does not know what the master
is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have
made known to you everything that I have heard from my
Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I
appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last,
so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my
name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love
one another.' |
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Psalms
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Psalm 67
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1
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God be gracious to us and bless
us •
and make his face to shine upon us, |
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2
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That your way may be known upon
earth, •
your saving power among all nations. |
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3
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Let the peoples praise you,
O God; • |
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let all the peoples praise
you. |
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4
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O let the nations rejoice and be
glad, •
for you will judge the peoples righteously
and govern the nations
upon earth. |
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5
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Let the peoples praise you,
O God; • |
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let all the peoples praise
you. |
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6
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Then shall the earth bring forth
her increase, •
and God, our own God, will bless us. |
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7
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God will bless us, •
and all the ends of the earth shall fear him. |
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Psalm 121
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1
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I lift up my eyes to the hills;
•
from where is my help to come? |
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2
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My help comes from the Lord,
•
the maker of heaven and earth. |
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3
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He will not suffer your foot to
stumble; •
he who watches over you will not sleep. |
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4
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Behold, he who keeps watch over
Israel •
shall neither slumber nor sleep. |
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5
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The Lord himself watches over
you; •
the Lord is your shade at your right hand, |
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6
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So that the sun shall not strike
you by day, •
neither the moon by night. |
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7
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The Lord shall keep you from all
evil; •
it is he who shall keep your soul. |
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8
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The Lord shall keep watch over
your going out
and your coming in,
•
from this time forth for evermore. |
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Psalm 127
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1
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Unless the Lord builds the
house, •
those who build it labour in vain. |
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2
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Unless the Lord keeps the city,
•
the guard keeps watch in vain. |
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3
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It is in vain that you hasten to
rise up early
and go so late to
rest, eating the bread of toil, •
for he gives his beloved sleep. |
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4
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Children are a heritage from the
Lord •
and the fruit of the womb is his gift. |
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5
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Like arrows in the hand of a
warrior, •
so are the children of one's youth. |
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6
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Happy are those who have their
quiver full of them: •
they shall not be put to shame
when they dispute with
their enemies in the gate. |
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Psalm 128
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1
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Blessed are all those who fear
the Lord, •
and walk in his ways. |
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2
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You shall eat the fruit of the
toil of your hands; •
it shall go well with you, and happy shall you be. |
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3
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Your wife within your
house
shall be like a
fruitful vine; •
your children round your table,
like fresh olive
branches. |
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4
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Thus shall the one be blest
•
who fears the Lord. |
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5
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The Lord from out of Zion bless
you, •
that you may see Jerusalem in prosperity
all the days of your
life. |
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6
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May you see your children's
children, •
and may there be peace upon Israel. |
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