Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Vav
A Song of Praise
41 May your gracious love come to me, Lord,
your salvation, just as you said.
42 Then I can answer the one who insults me,
for I place my trust in your word.
43 Never take your truthful words from me,
For I wait for[a] your ordinances.
44 Then I will always keep your Law,
forever and ever,
45 I will walk in liberty,
for I seek your precepts.
46 Then I will speak of your decrees before kings
and not be ashamed.
47 I will take delight in your commands,
which I love.
48 I will lift up my hands to your commands,
which I love,
and I will meditate on your statutes.
Sarai, Hagar, and Ishmael
16 Now Abram’s wife Sarai had not borne a child for him. She had an Egyptian servant girl whose name was Hagar. 2 So Sarai told Abram, “You are well aware that the Lord has prevented me from giving birth to a child. Go have sex with my servant, so that I may possibly bear a son[a] through her.”
Abram listened to Sarai’s suggestion, 3 so Abram’s wife Sarai took her Egyptian servant, Hagar, and gave her as a wife to her husband Abram. This took place[b] ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan. 4 He had sex with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she realized that she was pregnant, she looked with contempt on her mistress.
5 Then Sarai told Abram, “My suffering is your fault! I gave you my servant so you could have sex with her,[c] and when she discovered that she was pregnant, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!”
6 Abram answered Sarai, “Look, your servant is under your control, so do to her as you wish.”[d] So Sarai dealt so harshly with Hagar[e] that she ran away from Sarai.[f]
7 The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the desert on the road to Shur. 8 “Hagar, servant of Sarai,” he asked, “Where are you coming from and where are you going?”
She answered, “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.”
9 The angel of the Lord told her, “You must go back to your mistress and submit to her authority.” 10 The angel of the Lord also told her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring, who will be too many to count.
11 “Look, you are pregnant and will give birth to a son,” the angel of the Lord continued to say to her. “You will name him Ishmael,[g] because the Lord has heard your cry of[h] misery. 12 As a man, he’ll be uncontrollable.[i] He’ll[j] be against everyone, everyone will be against him,[k]and he’ll live in conflict with[l] all of his relatives.”
13 So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are ‘God who sees,’ because I have truly seen the one who looks after me.”
14 That’s why the spring was called, “The Well of the Living One who Looks after Me.” It was between Kadesh and Bered.
15 Hagar eventually gave birth to Abram’s son. Abram named his son whom Hagar bore Ishmael.
Relating with Unbelievers
14 Stop becoming[a] unevenly yoked with unbelievers. What partnership can righteousness have with lawlessness? What fellowship can light have with darkness? 15 What harmony exists between the Messiah[b] and Beliar,[c] or what do a believer and an unbeliever have in common? 16 What agreement can a temple of God make with idols? For we[d] are the temple of the living God, just as God said:
“I will live and walk among them.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.”[e]
17 Therefore,
“Get away from them
and separate yourselves from them,”
declares the Lord,[f]
“and don’t touch anything unclean.
Then I will welcome you.
18 I will be your Father,
and you will be my sons and daughters,”
declares the Lord[g] Almighty.[h]
Cleanse Yourselves in Holiness
7 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let’s cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit by becoming mature in our holy fear of God.
Encouraged by the Corinthians
2 Make room for us in your hearts![i] We have not treated anyone unjustly, harmed anyone, or cheated anyone.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.