Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord—Our Helper
121 I will lift up my eyes to the mountains. Where will my help come from? 2 My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your feet go out from under you. He Who watches over you will not sleep. 4 Listen, He Who watches over Israel will not close his eyes or sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you. The Lord is your safe cover at your right hand. 6 The sun will not hurt you during the day and the moon will not hurt you during the night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all that is sinful. He will watch over your soul. 8 The Lord will watch over your coming and going, now and forever.
43 Laban answered Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters. The children are my children. And the flocks are my flocks. All that you see is mine. But what can I do today to these my daughters or to their children who were born to them? 44 So come now, let us make an agreement, you and I. And let us do something to show we have an agreement between us.”
45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up in honor of the agreement. 46 Then Jacob said to the men of his family, “Gather stones.” So they took stones and put them on top of each other. And they ate there by all the stones. 47 Laban gave the stones the name of Jegar-sahadutha. But Jacob gave them the name Galeed. 48 Laban said, “These stones are to stand for the agreement between you and me today.” So they were given the name Galeed. 49 They were given the name of Mizpah also. For Laban said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are apart from each other. 50 If you hurt my daughters, or if you take wives other than my daughters, no man may see it. But God sees what happens between you and me.” 51 Laban said to Jacob, “See these stones that have been set up between you and me. 52 These stones that have been set up will stand for our agreement. I will not pass by these stones to hurt you. And you will not pass by these stones to hurt me. 53 The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob promised by the fear of his father Isaac. 54 Then Jacob gave a gift in worship to God on the mountain. Then he called his brothers to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed the night on the mountain.
55 Laban got up early in the morning and kissed his grandchildren and daughters. He prayed that good would come to them. Then Laban left and returned home.
Esau Comes to Meet Jacob
32 Jacob went on his way, and God’s angels met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp!” So he gave the place the name Mahanaim.
Foolish Talk
14 Tell your people about these things again. In the name of the Lord, tell them not to argue over words that are not important. It helps no one and it hurts the faith of those who are listening. 15 Do your best to know that God is pleased with you. Be as a workman who has nothing to be ashamed of. Teach the words of truth in the right way. 16 Do not listen to foolish talk about things that mean nothing. It only leads people farther away from God. 17 Such talk will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are like this. 18 They have turned from the truth. They say the dead have already been raised. The faith of some people has been made weak because of such foolish talk. 19 But the truth of God cannot be changed. It says, “The Lord knows those who are His.” And, “Everyone who says he is a Christian must turn away from sin!”
20 In a big house there are not only things made of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay. Some are of more use than others. Some are used every day. 21 If a man lives a clean life, he will be like a dish made of gold. He will be respected and set apart for good use by the owner of the house.
22 Turn away from the sinful things young people want to do. Go after what is right. Have a desire for faith and love and peace. Do this with those who pray to God from a clean heart. 23 Let me say it again. Have nothing to do with foolish talk and those who want to argue. It can only lead to trouble. 24 A servant owned by God must not make trouble. He must be kind to everyone. He must be able to teach. He must be willing to suffer when hurt for doing good. 25 Be gentle when you try to teach those who are against what you say. God may change their hearts so they will turn to the truth. 26 Then they will know they had been held in a trap by the devil to do what he wanted them to do. But now they are able to get out of it.
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.