Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Sing Praises to the Lord

The Lord's Promise to Abram

15 Later the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision, “Abram, don't be afraid! I will protect you and reward you greatly.”

² But Abram answered, “Lord All-Powerful, you have given me everything I could ask for, except children. And when I die, Eliezer of Damascus will get all I own.^{[a] 3} You have not given me any children, and this servant of mine will inherit everything.”

⁴ The Lord replied, “No, he won't! You will have a son of your own, and everything you have will be his.” ^5 (A) Then the Lord took Abram outside and said, “Look at the sky and see if you can count the stars. That's how many descendants you will have.” ^6 (B) Abram believed the Lord, so the Lord was pleased with him and accepted him.

The Lord Makes Another Promise to Abram

⁷ The Lord said to Abram, “I brought you here from Ur in Chaldea, and I gave you this land.”

⁸ Abram asked, “Lord God, how can I know the land will be mine?”

⁹ Then the Lord told him, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a dove, and a young pigeon.”

¹⁰ Abram obeyed the Lord. Then he cut^[b] the animals in half and laid the two halves of each animal opposite each other on the ground. But he did not cut the doves and pigeons in half. ¹¹ And when birds came down to eat the animals, Abram chased them away.

^12 (C) As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and everything became dark and frightening. ^13-15 (D) Then the Lord said:

Abram, you will live to an old age and die in peace.

But I solemnly promise that your descendants will live as foreigners in a land that doesn't belong to them. They will be forced into slavery and abused for 400 years. But I will terribly punish the nation that enslaves them, and they will leave with many possessions.

¹⁶ Four generations later,^[c] your descendants will return here and take this land, because only then will the people who live here^[d] be so sinful that they deserve to be punished.

¹⁷ Sometime after sunset, when it was very dark, a smoking cooking pot^[e] and a flaming fire passed between the two halves of each animal. ^18 (E) At that time the Lord made an agreement with Abram and told him:

I will give your descendants the land east of the Shihor River^[f] on the border of Egypt as far as the Euphrates River. ¹⁹ They will possess the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, ²⁰ the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaites,

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

²⁷ As Jesus was leaving that place, two blind men began following him and shouting, “Son of David,^[a] have pity on us!”

²⁸ After Jesus had gone indoors, the two blind men came up to him. He asked them, “Do you believe I can make you well?”

“Yes, Lord,” they answered.

²⁹ Jesus touched their eyes and said, “Because of your faith, you will be healed.” ³⁰ They were able to see, and Jesus strictly warned them not to tell anyone about him. ³¹ But they left and talked about him to everyone in that part of the country.

Jesus Heals a Man Who Could Not Talk

³² As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, some people brought to him a man who could not talk because a demon was in him. ³³ After Jesus had forced the demon out, the man started talking. The crowds were so amazed they began saying, “Nothing like this has ever happened in Israel!”

^34 (A) But the Pharisees said, “The leader of the demons gives him the power to force out demons.”