Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Hope for the Redemption of Yahweh
A song of ascents.[a]
130 Out of the depths I call to you, O Yahweh.
2 “O Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications.
3 If you, O Yah,[b] should keep track of[c] iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you is forgiveness,
so that you may be feared.”
5 I await Yahweh; my soul awaits,
and I wait[d] for his word.
6 My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning.
Yes, more than watchmen for the morning.
7 O Israel, wait[e] for Yahweh.
For with Yahweh there is loyal love,
and with him there is abundant redemption.
8 And he will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities.
The Generations of Heaven and Earth
4 These are the generations[a] of heaven[b] and earth[c] when they were created, in the day that Yahweh God made earth and heaven[d]— 5 before any plant of the field was[e] on earth, and before any plant of the field[f] had sprung up, because Yahweh God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no human being to cultivate the ground, 6 but a stream would rise from the earth and water the whole face of the ground— 7 when[g] Yahweh God formed the man[h] of dust from the ground, and he blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
8 And Yahweh God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he put the man[i] whom he had formed. 9 And Yahweh God caused to grow every tree that was pleasing to the sight and good for food. And the tree of life was in the midst of the garden, along with[j] the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 Now[k] a river flowed out from Eden that watered the garden, and from there it diverged and became four branches. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon. It went around all the land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stones are there.) 13 And the name of the second is Gihon. It went around all the land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third is Tigris. It flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
The Parable of the Sower
4 And while[a] a large crowd was gathering and they were going to him from town after town, he spoke by means of a parable: 5 “The sower went out to sow his seed, and while he was sowing, some seed[b] fell on the side of the path and was trampled under foot, and the birds of the sky devoured it. 6 And other seed fell on the rock, and when it[c] came up, it withered, because it did not have moisture. 7 And other seed fell in the midst of the thorn plants, and the thorn plants grew up with it[d] and[e] choked it. 8 And other seed fell on the good soil, and when it[f] came up, it produced a hundred times as much grain.” As he[g] said these things, he called out, “The one who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
The Reason for the Parables
9 And his disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 And he said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest they are in parables, so that
‘Seeing they may not see,
and hearing they may not understand.’[h]
The Parable of the Sower Interpreted
11 Now the parable means this: the seed is the word of God, 12 and those beside the path are the ones who have heard. Then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they may not believe and[i] be saved. 13 And those on the rock are those who receive the word with joy when they hear it,[j] and these do not have enough root, who believe for a time and in a time of testing fall away. 14 And the seed that fell into the thorn plants—these are the ones who hear and as they[k] go along are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life, and they do not bear fruit to maturity. 15 But the seed on the good soil—these are the ones who, after[l] hearing the word, hold fast to it[m] with a noble and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.
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