Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Glory of God in His Goodness to Israel

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.

Abraham’s Faith Confirmed^(A)

22 Now it came to pass after these things that ^(B)God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”

And he said, “Here I am.”

² Then He said, “Take now your son, ^(C)your only son Isaac, whom you ^(D)love, and go ^(E)to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a ^(F)burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

³ So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. ⁴ Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. ⁵ And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the ^[a]lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will ^(G)come back to you.”

⁶ So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and ^(H)laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. ⁷ But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!”

And he said, “Here I am, my son.”

Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the ^[b]lamb for a burnt offering?”

⁸ And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the ^(I)lamb for a ^(J)burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.

⁹ Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and ^(K)laid him on the altar, upon the wood. ¹⁰ And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

¹¹ But the ^(L)Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”

So he said, “Here I am.”

¹² And He said, ^(M)“Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for ^(N)now I know that you fear God, since you have not ^(O)withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

¹³ Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ And Abraham called the name of the place, ^[c]The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

Defending the Gospel^(A)

2 Then after fourteen years ^(B)I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me. ² And I went up ^[a]by revelation, and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but ^(C)privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means ^(D)I might run, or had run, in vain. ³ Yet not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. ⁴ And this occurred because of ^(E)false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our ^(F)liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, ^(G)that they might bring us into bondage), ⁵ to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that ^(H)the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

⁶ But from those ^(I)who seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; ^(J)God ^[b]shows personal favoritism to no man—for those who seemed to be something ^(K)added nothing to me. ⁷ But on the contrary, ^(L)when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised ^(M)had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter ⁸ (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the ^(N)circumcised ^(O)also ^(P)worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles), ⁹ and when James, ^[c]Cephas, and John, who seemed to be ^(Q)pillars, perceived ^(R)the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, ^(S)that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. ¹⁰ They desired only that we should remember the poor, ^(T)the very thing which I also was eager to do.