Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
For the choir leader; a psalm by David.
140 Rescue me from evil people, O Lord.
Keep me safe from violent people.
2 They plan evil things in their hearts.
They start fights every day.
3 They make their tongues as sharp as a snake’s ⌞fang⌟.
Their lips hide the venom of poisonous snakes. Selah
4 Protect me from the hands of wicked people, O Lord.
Keep me safe from violent people.
They try to trip me.
5 Arrogant people have laid a trap for me.
They have spread out a net with ropes.
They have set traps for me along the road. Selah
6 I said to the Lord, “You are my God.”
O Lord, open your ears to hear my plea for pity.
7 O Lord Almighty, the strong one who saves me,
you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 O Lord, do not give wicked people what they want.
Do not let their evil plans succeed,
⌞or⌟ they will become arrogant. Selah
9 Let the heads of those who surround me
be covered with their own threats.
10 Let burning coals fall on them.
Let them be thrown into a pit, never to rise again.
11 Do not let slanderers prosper on earth.
Let evil hunt down violent people with one blow after another.
12 I know that the Lord will defend the rights of those who are oppressed
and the cause of those who are needy.
13 Indeed, righteous people will give thanks to your name.
Decent people will live in your presence.
34 “I am Abraham’s servant,” he said. 35 “The Lord has blessed my master, and he has become wealthy. The Lord has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys. 36 My master’s wife Sarah gave him a son in her old age, and my master has given that son everything he has. 37 My master made me swear this oath: ‘Don’t get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I’m living. 38 Instead, go to my father’s home and to my relatives, and get my son a wife.’
39 “I asked my master, ‘What if the woman won’t come back with me?’
40 “He answered me, ‘I have been living the way the Lord wants me to. The Lord will send his angel with you to make your trip successful. You will get my son a wife from my relatives and from my father’s family. 41 Then you will be free from your oath to me. You will also be free of your oath to me if my relatives are not willing to do this when you go to them.’
50 Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the Lord. We can’t say anything to you one way or another. 51 Here’s Rebekah! Take her and go! She will become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has said.”
52 When Abraham’s servant heard their answer, he bowed down to the Lord. 53 The servant took out gold and silver jewelry and clothes and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave expensive presents to her brother and mother. 54 Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night. When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me go back to my master.”
55 Her brother and mother replied, “Let the girl stay with us ten days or so. After that she may go.”
56 He said to them, “Don’t delay me now that the Lord has made my trip successful. Let me go back to my master.”
57 So they said, “We’ll call the girl and ask her.”
58 They called for Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?”
She said, “Yes, I’ll go.”
59 So they let their sister Rebekah and her nurse go with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 They gave Rebekah a blessing:
“May you, our sister, become the mother of many thousands of children.
May your descendants take possession of their enemies’ cities.”
61 Then Rebekah and her maids left. Riding on camels, they followed the man. The servant took Rebekah and left.
Isaac and Rebekah Are Married
62 Isaac had just come back from Beer Lahai Roi, since he was living in the Negev. 63 Toward evening Isaac went out into the field to meditate. When he looked up, he saw camels coming. 64 When Rebekah saw Isaac, she got down from her camel. 65 She asked the servant, “Who is that man over there coming through the field to meet us?”
“That is my master,” the servant answered. Then she took her veil and covered herself. 66 The servant reported to Isaac everything he had done. 67 Isaac took her into his mother Sarah’s tent. He married Rebekah. She became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
7 Dear friends, it’s not as though I’m writing to give you a new commandment. Rather, I’m giving you an old commandment that you’ve had from the beginning. It’s the old commandment you’ve already heard. 8 On the other hand, I’m writing to give you a new commandment. It’s a truth that exists in Christ and in you: The darkness is fading, and the true light is already shining.
9 Those who say that they are in the light but hate other believers are still in the dark. 10 Those who love other believers live in the light. Nothing will destroy the faith of those who live in the light. 11 Those who hate other believers are in the dark and live in the dark. They don’t know where they’re going, because they can’t see in the dark.
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