Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord Exalts the Humble.
113 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
(A)Praise Him, you (B)servants of the Lord,
Praise the name of the Lord.
2 (C)Blessed be the name of the Lord
From this time on and forever.
3 (D)From [c]the rising of the sun to its setting,
The (E)name of the Lord is to be praised.
4 The Lord is (F)high above all nations;
His (G)glory is above the heavens.
5 (H)Who is like the Lord our God,
Who (I)is enthroned on high,
6 Who (J)looks far down to
The heavens and the earth?
7 He (K)raises the poor from the dust,
He lifts the needy from the garbage heap,
8 To (L)seat them with noblemen,
With the noblemen of His people.
9 He (M)has the infertile woman live in the house
As a joyful mother of children.
[d]Praise [e]the Lord!
The Sons of Jacob
30 Now when Rachel saw that (A)she had not borne Jacob any children, [a]she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “(B)Give me children, or else I am going to die.” 2 Then Jacob’s anger burned against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has (C)withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” 3 Then she said, “(D)Here is my female slave Bilhah: have relations with her that she may (E)give birth [b]on my knees, so that [c](F)by her I too may obtain a child.” 4 So (G)she gave him her slave Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had relations with her. 5 Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 Then Rachel said, “God has [d](H)vindicated me, and has indeed heard my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she named him [e]Dan. 7 And Rachel’s slave Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 So Rachel said, “With [f]mighty wrestling I have [g]wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed.” And she named him Naphtali.
9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her slave Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 And Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, “[h]How fortunate!” So she named him [i]Gad. 12 And Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 Then Leah said, “[j]Happy am I! For women (I)will call me happy.” So she named him [k]Asher.
14 Now in the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found (J)mandrake fruits in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son’s mandrakes also?” So Rachel said, “Therefore he may sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must have relations with me, for I have indeed hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night. 17 God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Then Leah said, “God has given me my [l]reward, because I gave my slave to my husband.” So she named him Issachar. 19 And Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob. 20 Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good gift; finally my husband [m]will acknowledge me as his wife, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. 21 Afterward she gave birth to a daughter, and named her Dinah.
22 Then (K)God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and (L)opened her womb. 23 So she conceived and gave birth to a son, and said, “God has (M)taken away my disgrace.” 24 And she named him Joseph, saying, “(N)May the Lord [n]give me another son.”
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time (A)are not worthy to be compared with the (B)glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the (C)eagerly awaiting creation waits for (D)the revealing of the (E)sons and daughters of God. 20 For the creation (F)was subjected to (G)futility, not willingly, but (H)because of Him who subjected it, [a]in hope 21 that (I)the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation (J)groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 (K)And not only that, but also we ourselves, having (L)the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves (M)groan within ourselves, (N)waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons and daughters, (O)the redemption of our body. 24 For (P)in hope we have been saved, but (Q)hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But (R)if we hope for what we do not see, through perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
Our Victory in Christ
26 Now in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for (S)we do not know what to pray for as we should, but (T)the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with [b]groanings too deep for words; 27 and (U)He who searches the hearts knows what (V)the mind of the Spirit is, because He (W)intercedes for the [c]saints according to the will of God.
28 And we know that [d]God [e]causes (X)all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are (Y)called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He (Z)foreknew, He also (AA)predestined to become (AB)conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the (AC)firstborn among many brothers and sisters; 30 and these whom He (AD)predestined, He also (AE)called; and these whom He called, He also (AF)justified; and these whom He justified, He also (AG)glorified.
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