Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 113
Praise the Lord, you his servants;(B)
praise the name of the Lord.
2 Let the name of the Lord be praised,(C)
both now and forevermore.(D)
3 From the rising of the sun(E) to the place where it sets,
the name of the Lord is to be praised.
4 The Lord is exalted(F) over all the nations,
his glory above the heavens.(G)
5 Who is like the Lord our God,(H)
the One who sits enthroned(I) on high,(J)
6 who stoops down to look(K)
on the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor(L) from the dust
and lifts the needy(M) from the ash heap;
8 he seats them(N) with princes,
with the princes of his people.
9 He settles the childless(O) woman in her home
as a happy mother of children.
Praise the Lord.
30 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children,(A) she became jealous of her sister.(B) So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”
2 Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God,(C) who has kept you from having children?”(D)
3 Then she said, “Here is Bilhah,(E) my servant.(F) Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.”(G)
4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife.(H) Jacob slept with her,(I) 5 and she became pregnant and bore him a son. 6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me;(J) he has listened to my plea and given me a son.”(K) Because of this she named him Dan.[a](L)
7 Rachel’s servant Bilhah(M) conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.”(N) So she named him Naphtali.[b](O)
9 When Leah(P) saw that she had stopped having children,(Q) she took her servant Zilpah(R) and gave her to Jacob as a wife.(S) 10 Leah’s servant Zilpah(T) bore Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, “What good fortune!”[c] So she named him Gad.[d](U)
12 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 Then Leah said, “How happy I am! The women will call me(V) happy.”(W) So she named him Asher.[e](X)
14 During wheat harvest,(Y) Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants,(Z) which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
15 But she said to her, “Wasn’t it enough(AA) that you took away my husband? Will you take my son’s mandrakes too?”
“Very well,” Rachel said, “he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.”(AB)
16 So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. “You must sleep with me,” she said. “I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.”(AC) So he slept with her that night.
17 God listened to Leah,(AD) and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.”(AE) So she named him Issachar.[f](AF)
19 Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 Then Leah said, “God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor,(AG) because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.[g](AH)
21 Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.(AI)
22 Then God remembered Rachel;(AJ) he listened to her(AK) and enabled her to conceive.(AL) 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son(AM) and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.”(AN) 24 She named him Joseph,[h](AO) and said, “May the Lord add to me another son.”(AP)
Present Suffering and Future Glory
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.(A) 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God(B) to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it,(C) in hope 21 that[a] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay(D) and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.(E)
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning(F) as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,(G) groan(H) inwardly as we wait eagerly(I) for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.(J) 24 For in this hope we were saved.(K) But hope that is seen is no hope at all.(L) Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.(M)
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit(N) himself intercedes for us(O) through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts(P) knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes(Q) for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good(R) of those who love him, who[b] have been called(S) according to his purpose.(T) 29 For those God foreknew(U) he also predestined(V) to be conformed to the image of his Son,(W) that he might be the firstborn(X) among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined,(Y) he also called;(Z) those he called, he also justified;(AA) those he justified, he also glorified.(AB)
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