Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 130
A Song of Ascents.
1 From the depths I call on You, O Lord!
2 O Lord, hear my voice;
let Your ears be attentive
to the sound of my supplications.
3 If you, O Lord, should keep track of iniquities,
O Lord, who shall stand?
4 For there is forgiveness with You,
that You may be feared.
5 I wait for the Lord, with bated breath I wait;
I long for His Word!
6 My soul waits for the Lord,
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
7 Let Israel wait for the Lord!
For mercy is found with the Lord;
with Him is great redemption.
8 He shall redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
Adam and Eve
4 This is the account[a] of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5 no shrub of the field was yet on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. 6 But a mist[b] arose from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.
8 The Lord God planted a garden in the east, in Eden, and there He placed the man whom He had formed. 9 Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, along with the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four rivers. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it encompasses the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 The gold of that land is good; bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it encompasses the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Tigris; it goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
The Parable of the Sower(A)
4 When a large crowd had gathered together and people were coming to Him from every city, He told this parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 Some fell on a rock. And as soon as it sprang up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. 7 Yet some fell among thorns. And the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. 8 And other seed fell on good ground and sprang up and yielded a hundred times the amount sown.”
When He had said these things, He cried out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
The Purpose of the Parables(B)
9 His disciples asked Him, “What might this parable mean?” 10 He said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but to others they are in parables, so that
‘seeing they may not see,
and hearing they may not understand.’[a]
The Parable of the Sower Explained(C)
11 “Now the parable means this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those along the path are those who hear. Then comes the devil, who takes away the word from their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rock are the ones who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root, for they believe for a while, then in the time of temptation fall away. 14 That which fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with the cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the seed on the good ground are those who, having heard the word, keep it in an honest and good heart and bear fruit with patience.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.