Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 68
God’s Majestic Power
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm. A song.
1 God arises. His enemies scatter,
and those who hate Him flee from His presence.(A)
2 As smoke is blown away,
so You blow them away.
As wax melts before the fire,
so the wicked are destroyed before God.(B)
3 But the righteous are glad;
they rejoice before God and celebrate with joy.(C)
4 Sing to God! Sing praises to His name.
Exalt Him who rides on the clouds[a] —
His name is Yahweh[b]—and rejoice before Him.(D)
5 God in His holy dwelling is
a father of the fatherless
and a champion of widows.(E)
6 God provides homes for those who are deserted.
He leads out the prisoners to prosperity,[c]
but the rebellious live in a scorched land.(F)
7 God, when You went out before Your people,
when You marched through the desert,
8 the earth trembled and the skies poured down rain
before God, the God of Sinai,[d]
before God, the God of Israel.(G)
9 You, God, showered abundant rain;
You revived Your inheritance when it languished.(H)
10 Your people settled in it;
God, You provided for the poor by Your goodness.(I)
The Sacrifice of Isaac
22 After these things God tested Abraham(A) and said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he answered.
2 “Take your son,” He said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love,(B) go to the land of Moriah,(C) and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”
3 So Abraham got up early in the morning,(D) saddled his donkey, and took with him two of his young men and his son Isaac. He split wood for a burnt offering and set out to go to the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day(E) Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship; then we’ll come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac.(F) In his hand he took the fire and the sacrificial knife,[a] and the two of them walked on together.
7 Then Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father.”
And he replied, “Here I am, my son.”
Isaac said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide[b](G) the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Then the two of them walked on together.
9 When they arrived at the place that God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac[c] and placed him on the altar(H) on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.
11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
He replied, “Here I am.”
12 Then He said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from Me.”(I) 13 Abraham looked up and saw a ram[d] caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide,[e] so today it is said: “It will be provided[f] on the Lord’s mountain.”
Paul Defends His Gospel at Jerusalem
2 Then after 14 years I went up again(A) to Jerusalem with Barnabas,(B) taking Titus(C) along also. 2 I went up according to a revelation(D) and presented to them the gospel I preach among the Gentiles—but privately to those recognized as leaders—so that I might not be running, or have run the race, in vain. 3 But not even Titus who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. 4 This issue arose because of false brothers(E) smuggled in, who came in secretly to spy on the freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us. 5 But we did not give up and submit to these people for even an hour, so that the truth(F) of the gospel would be preserved for you.
6 Now from those recognized as important (what they really were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism[a](G))—they added nothing to me. 7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised,(H) just as Peter(I) was for the circumcised, 8 since the One at work in Peter for an apostleship to the circumcised was also at work in me for the Gentiles. 9 When James,(J) Cephas,(K) and John,(L) recognized as pillars,(M) acknowledged the grace that had been given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to me and Barnabas, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 They asked only that we would remember the poor,(N) which I made every effort to do.
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