Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 124[a]
A song of ascents;[b] by David.
124 “If the Lord had not been on our side”—
let Israel say this.—
2 if the Lord had not been on our side,
when men attacked us,[c]
3 they would have swallowed us alive,
when their anger raged against us.
4 The water would have overpowered us;
the current[d] would have overwhelmed[e] us.[f]
5 The raging water
would have overwhelmed us.[g]
6 The Lord deserves praise,[h]
for[i] he did not hand us over as prey to their teeth.
7 We escaped with our lives,[j] like a bird from a hunter’s snare.
The snare broke, and we escaped.
8 Our deliverer is the Lord,[k]
the Creator[l] of heaven and earth.
God’s Covenant with Humankind through Noah
9 Then God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 2 Every living creature of the earth and every bird of the sky will be terrified of you.[a] Everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea are under your authority.[b] 3 You may eat any moving thing that lives.[c] As I gave you[d] the green plants, I now give[e] you everything.
4 “But[f] you must not eat meat[g] with its life (that is,[h] its blood) in it.[i] 5 For your lifeblood[j] I will surely exact punishment,[k] from[l] every living creature I will exact punishment. From each person[m] I will exact punishment for the life of the individual[n] since the man was his relative.[o]
6 “Whoever sheds human blood,[p]
by other humans[q]
must his blood be shed;
for in God’s image[r]
God[s] has made humankind.
7 “But as for you,[t] be fruitful and multiply; increase abundantly on the earth and multiply on it.”
8 God said to Noah and his sons,[u] 9 “Look. I now confirm[v] my covenant with you and your descendants after you[w] 10 and with every living creature that is with you, including the birds, the domestic animals, and every living creature of the earth with you, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature of the earth.[x] 11 I confirm[y] my covenant with you: Never again will all living things[z] be wiped out[aa] by the waters of a flood;[ab] never again will a flood destroy the earth.”
12 And God said, “This is the guarantee[ac] of the covenant I am making[ad] with you[ae] and every living creature with you, a covenant[af] for all subsequent[ag] generations: 13 I will place[ah] my rainbow[ai] in the clouds, and it will become[aj] a guarantee of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever[ak] I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 then I will remember my covenant with you[al] and with all living creatures of all kinds.[am] Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy[an] all living things.[ao] 16 When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will notice it and remember[ap] the perpetual covenant between God and all living creatures of all kinds that are on the earth.”
17 So God said to Noah, “This is the guarantee of the covenant that I am confirming between me and all living things[aq] that are on the earth.”
32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets. 33 Through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice,[a] gained what was promised,[b] shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched raging fire,[c] escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness,[d] became mighty in battle, put foreign armies to flight, 35 and women received back their dead raised to life.[e] But others were tortured, not accepting release, to obtain resurrection to a better life.[f] 36 And others experienced mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, sawed apart,[g] murdered with the sword; they went about in sheepskins and goatskins; they were destitute, afflicted, ill-treated 38 (the world was not worthy of them); they wandered in deserts and mountains and caves and openings in the earth. 39 And these all were commended[h] for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised.[i] 40 For God had provided something better for us, so that they would be made perfect together with us.[j]
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