Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord Helps People in Need
1 Shout praises to the Lord!
Everyone who serves him,
come and praise his name.
2 Let the name of the Lord
be praised now and forever.
3 From dawn until sunset
the name of the Lord
deserves to be praised.
4 The Lord is far above
all of the nations;
he is more glorious
than the heavens.
5 No one can compare
with the Lord our God.
His throne is high above,
6 and he looks down to see
the heavens and the earth.
7 God lifts the poor and needy
from dust and ashes,
8 and he lets them take part
in ruling his people.
9 When a wife has no children,
he blesses her with some,
and she is happy.
Shout praises to the Lord!
Problems between Rachel and Leah
30 Rachel was very jealous of Leah for having children, and she said to Jacob, “I'll die if you don't give me some children!”
2 But Jacob became upset with Rachel and answered, “Don't blame me! I'm not God.”
3 “Here, take my servant Bilhah,” Rachel told him. “Have children by her, and I'll let them be born on my knees to show that they are mine.”
4 Then Rachel let Jacob marry Bilhah, 5 and they had a son. 6 Rachel named him Dan,[a] because she said, “God has answered my prayers. He judged in my favor and has given me a son.” 7 When Bilhah and Jacob had a second son, 8 Rachel said, “I've struggled hard with my sister, and I've won!” So she named the boy Naphtali.[b]
9 When Leah realized she could not have any more children, she let Jacob marry her servant Zilpah, 10 and they had a son. 11 “I'm really lucky,” Leah said, and she named the boy Gad.[c] 12 When they had another son, 13 Leah exclaimed, “I'm happy now, and all the women will say how happy I am.” So she named him Asher.[d]
Love Flowers
14 During the time of the wheat harvest, Reuben found some love flowers[e] and took them to his mother Leah. Rachel asked Leah for some of them, 15 but Leah said, “It's bad enough that you stole my husband! Now you want my son's love flowers too.”
“All right,” Rachel answered. “Let me have the flowers, and you can sleep with Jacob tonight.”
16 That evening when Jacob came in from the fields, Leah told him, “You're sleeping with me tonight. I hired you with my son's love flowers.”
They slept together that night, 17 and God answered Leah's prayers by giving her a fifth son. 18 Leah shouted, “God has rewarded me for letting Jacob marry my servant,” and she named the boy Issachar.[f]
19 When Leah had another son, 20 she exclaimed, “God has given me a wonderful gift, and my husband will praise me for giving him six sons.” So she named the boy Zebulun.[g] 21 Later, Leah had a daughter and named her Dinah.
22-23 Finally, God remembered Rachel—he answered her prayer by giving her a son. “God has taken away my disgrace,” she said. 24 “I'll name the boy Joseph,[h] and I'll pray that the Lord will give me another son.”
A Wonderful Future for God's People
18 (A) I am sure what we are suffering now cannot compare with the glory that will be shown to us. 19 In fact, all creation is eagerly waiting for God to show who his children are. 20 (B) Meanwhile, creation is confused, but not because it wants to be confused. God made it this way in the hope 21 that creation would be set free from decay and would share in the glorious freedom of his children. 22 We know that all creation is still groaning and is in pain, like a woman about to give birth.
23 (C) The Spirit makes us sure about what we will be in the future. But now we groan silently, while we wait for God to show that we are his children.[a] This means that our bodies will also be set free. 24 And this hope is what saves us. But if we already have what we hope for, there is no need to keep on hoping. 25 However, we hope for something we have not yet seen, and we patiently wait for it.
26 In certain ways we are weak, but the Spirit is here to help us. For example, when we don't know what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words. 27 (D) All of our thoughts are known to God. He can understand what is in the mind of the Spirit, as the Spirit prays for God's people. 28 We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him.[b] They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose, 29 and he has always known who his chosen ones would be. He had decided to let them become like his own Son, so his Son would be the first of many children. 30 God then accepted the people he had already decided to choose, and he has shared his glory with them.
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