Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

God the Help of Those Who Seek Him

A Song of Ascents.

³ Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother ^(A)in the land of Seir, ^(B)the ^[a]country of Edom. ⁴ And he commanded them, saying, ^(C)“Speak thus to my lord Esau, ‘Thus your servant Jacob says: “I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now. ^5 (D)I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that ^(E)I may find favor in your sight.” ’ ”

⁶ Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and ^(F)he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” ⁷ So Jacob was greatly afraid and ^(G)distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies. ⁸ And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and ^[b]attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape.”

^9 (H)Then Jacob said, ^(I)“O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord ^(J)who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’: ¹⁰ I am not worthy of the least of all the ^(K)mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with ^(L)my staff, and now I have become two companies. ^11 (M)Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and ^[c]attack me and ^(N)the mother with the children. ¹² For ^(O)You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the ^(P)sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ”

¹³ So he lodged there that same night, and took what ^[d]came to his hand as ^(Q)a present for Esau his brother: ¹⁴ two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, ¹⁵ thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals. ¹⁶ Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves.” ¹⁷ And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’ ¹⁸ then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.’ ” ¹⁹ So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him; ²⁰ and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’ ” For he said, “I will ^(R)appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.” ²¹ So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus^(A)

^46 (B)Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. ⁴⁷ And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, ^(C)Son of David, ^(D)have mercy on me!”

⁴⁸ Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁹ So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.

Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”

⁵⁰ And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.

⁵¹ So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

The blind man said to Him, ^[a]“Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”

⁵² Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; ^(E)your faith has ^[b]made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.