Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
III
23 Then I will proclaim your name to my brethren;
in the assembly I will praise you:[a](A)
24 “You who fear the Lord, give praise!
All descendants of Jacob, give honor;
show reverence, all descendants of Israel!
25 For he has not spurned or disdained
the misery of this poor wretch,
Did not turn away[b] from me,
but heard me when I cried out.
26 I will offer praise in the great assembly;
my vows I will fulfill before those who fear him.
27 The poor[c] will eat their fill;
those who seek the Lord will offer praise.
May your hearts enjoy life forever!”(B)
IV
28 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord;
All the families of nations
will bow low before him.(C)
29 For kingship belongs to the Lord,
the ruler over the nations.(D)
30 [d]All who sleep in the earth
will bow low before God;
All who have gone down into the dust
will kneel in homage.
31 And I will live for the Lord;
my descendants will serve you.
Chapter 15
The Covenant with Abram.[a] 1 Some time afterward, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Do not fear, Abram! I am your shield; I will make your reward very great.
2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you give me, if I die childless and have only a servant of my household, Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Abram continued, “Look, you have given me no offspring, so a servant of my household will be my heir.” 4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: No, that one will not be your heir; your own offspring will be your heir.(A) 5 He took him outside and said: Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so, he added, will your descendants be.(B) 6 (C)Abram put his faith in the Lord, who attributed it to him as an act of righteousness.[b]
12 As the sun was about to set, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a great, dark dread descended upon him.
13 [a]Then the Lord said to Abram: Know for certain that your descendants will reside as aliens in a land not their own, where they shall be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.(A) 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation they must serve, and after this they will go out with great wealth.(B) 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace; you will be buried at a ripe old age. 16 In the fourth generation[b] your descendants will return here, for the wickedness of the Amorites is not yet complete.(C)
17 When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch, which passed between those pieces. 18 [c]On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates,(D)
21 But now[a] the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, though testified to by the law and the prophets,(A) 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction;(B) 23 all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.(C) 24 They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus,(D) 25 whom God set forth as an expiation,[b] through faith, by his blood, to prove his righteousness because of the forgiveness of sins previously committed,(E) 26 through the forbearance of God—to prove his righteousness in the present time, that he might be righteous and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.
27 (F)What occasion is there then for boasting?[c] It is ruled out. On what principle, that of works? No, rather on the principle of faith.[d] 28 For we consider that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law.(G) 29 Does God belong to Jews alone? Does he not belong to Gentiles, too? Yes, also to Gentiles,(H) 30 for God is one and will justify the circumcised on the basis of faith and the uncircumcised through faith.(I) 31 Are we then annulling the law by this faith? Of course not!(J) On the contrary, we are supporting the law.[e]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.