Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Abram Journeys to Egypt
12 Now (A)the Lord said to Abram,
“Go from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;
2 And (B)I will make you into a great nation,
And (C)I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And you shall (D)be a blessing;
3 And (E)I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who [a]curses you I will [b]curse.
(F)And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
4 So Abram went away as the Lord had spoken to him; and (G)Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
The Lord, the Keeper of Israel.
A Song of Ascents.
121 I will (A)raise my eyes to (B)the mountains;
From where will my help come?
2 My (C)help comes from the Lord,
Who (D)made heaven and earth.
3 He will not (E)allow your foot to slip;
He who (F)watches over you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who watches over Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your [a](G)protector;
The Lord is your (H)shade on your right hand.
6 The (I)sun will not [b]beat down on you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will [c](J)protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
8 The Lord will [d](K)guard your going out and your coming in
(L)From this time and forever.
Abraham’s Justification by Faith
4 What then shall we say that Abraham, [a]our forefather (A)according to the flesh, has found? 2 For if Abraham was justified [b]by works, he has something to boast about; but (B)not [c]before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “(C)Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who (D)works, the wages are not credited as a favor, but as what is due. 5 But to the one who does not work, but (E)believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,
13 For (A)the promise to Abraham or to his [a]descendants (B)that he would be heir of the world was not [b]through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For (C)if those who are [c]of the Law are heirs, then faith is made void and the promise is nullified; 15 for (D)the Law brings about wrath, but (E)where there is no law, there also is no violation.
16 For this reason it is [d]by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with (F)grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to (G)all the [e]descendants, not only to [f]those who are of the Law, but also to [g](H)those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is (I)the father of us all, 17 (as it is written: “I have made you (J)a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, that is, God, (K)who gives life to the dead and (L)calls into being (M)things that do not exist.
The New Birth
3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named (A)Nicodemus, a (B)ruler of the Jews; 2 this man came to [a]Jesus at night and said to Him, “(C)Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these [b](D)signs that You do unless (E)God is with him.” 3 Jesus responded and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone (F)is born [c]again he cannot see (G)the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a person be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of (H)water and the Spirit, he cannot enter (I)the kingdom of God. 6 (J)That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born [d]again.’ 8 (K)The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus responded and said to Him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, “You are (L)the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, (M)we speak of what we know and (N)testify of what we have seen, and (O)you people do not accept our testimony. 12 If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 (P)No one has ascended into heaven, except (Q)He who descended from heaven: (R)the Son of Man. 14 And just as (S)Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must (T)the Son of Man (U)be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who [e]believes will (V)have eternal life in Him.
16 “For God so (W)loved the world, that He (X)gave His (Y)only Son, so that everyone who (Z)believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God (AA)did not send the Son into the world (AB)to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him.
The Transfiguration
17 (A)Six days later, Jesus *took with Him (B)Peter and [a]James, and his brother John, and *led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Peter responded and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If You want, (C)I will make three [b]tabernacles here: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, (D)a voice from the cloud said, “(E)This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell [c]face down to the ground and were terrified. 7 And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and (F)do not be afraid.” 8 And raising their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.
9 (G)When they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “(H)Tell the vision to no one until (I)the Son of Man has (J)risen from the dead.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.