Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 113
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise, O you servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord.
2 Blessed be the name of the Lord
from this time forth and for evermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to its going down,
the Lord’s name is to be praised.
4 The Lord is high above all nations,
and His glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the Lord our God,
who dwells on high,
6 who looks down on the things
that are in heaven and on the earth?
7 He raises up the poor out of the dust
and lifts the needy out of the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes,
even with the princes of His people.
9 He gives the barren woman a dwelling,
making her the joyful mother of children.
Praise the Lord!
30 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I will die.”
2 Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”
3 Then she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah. Have relations with her so that she may bear a child on my knees,[a] so that I may also have children through her.”
4 So she gave him Bilhah her maidservant as a wife, and Jacob had relations with her. 5 Bilhah conceived and gave Jacob a son. 6 Rachel said, “God has vindicated me, and He has also heard my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.
7 Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, conceived again and gave Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, “With great wrestling have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.
9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Zilpah, Leah’s maid, gave Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she called his name Gad.
12 Zilpah, Leah’s maid, gave Jacob a second son. 13 Then Leah said, “Happy am I, for women will call me happy.” So she called his name Asher.
14 At the time of the wheat harvest, Reuben went and found mandrakes 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 Leah said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?”
So Rachel said, “All right, he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”
16 When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep with me, because I have paid for you with my son’s mandrakes.” And he slept with her that night.
17 God listened to Leah, and she conceived and gave Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, “God has given me my reward because I have given my maid to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar.
19 Leah conceived again and gave Jacob a sixth son. 20 Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will dwell with me, because I have given him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun.
21 Afterwards she gave birth to a daughter and called her name Dinah.
22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. 23 She conceived and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” 24 And she called his name Joseph, saying, “The Lord will add to me another son.”
The Glory That Is to Be
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us. 19 The eager expectation of the creation waits for the appearance of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but by the will of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan within ourselves while eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For we are saved through hope, but hope that is seen is not hope, for why does a man still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
26 Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
28 We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified; and those whom He justified, He also glorified.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.