Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
41 Lord, show me your love.
Save me as you have promised.
42 Then I will have an answer for people who insult me.
I trust what you say.
43 Never keep me from speaking your truth.
I depend on your fair laws.
44 I will obey your teachings
forever and ever.
45 So I will live in freedom
because I want to follow your orders.
46 I will discuss your rules with kings.
And I will not be ashamed.
47 I enjoy obeying your commands.
I love them.
48 I praise your commands, which I love.
And I think about your demands.
16 Then the men got up to leave and started out toward Sodom. Abraham walked along with them a short time to send them on their way.
Abraham’s Bargain with God
17 The Lord said, “Should I tell Abraham what I am going to do now? 18 Abraham’s children will certainly become a great and powerful nation. And all nations on earth will be blessed through him. 19 I have chosen him so he would command his children and his descendants to live the way the Lord wants them to. I did this so they would live right and be fair. Then I, the Lord, will give Abraham what I promised him.”
20 Then the Lord said, “I have heard many things against the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. They are very evil. 21 So I will go down and see if they are as bad as I have heard.”
22 So the men turned and went toward Sodom. But Abraham stood there before the Lord. 23 Then Abraham approached the Lord. Abraham asked, “Lord, do you plan to destroy the good persons along with the evil persons? 24 What if there are 50 good people in that city? Will you still destroy it? Surely you will save the city for the 50 good people living there. 25 Surely you will not destroy the good people along with the evil people. Then the good people and the evil people would be treated the same. You are the judge of all the earth. Won’t you do what is right?”
26 Then the Lord said, “If I find 50 good people in the city of Sodom, I will save the whole city because of them.”
27 Then Abraham said, “I am only dust and ashes. Yet I have been brave to speak to the Lord. 28 What if there are only 45 good people in the city? Will you destroy the whole city for the lack of 5 good people?”
The Lord said, “If I find 45 good people there, I will not destroy the city.”
29 Again Abraham said to the Lord, “If you find only 40 good people there, will you destroy the city?”
The Lord said, “If I find 40 good people, I will not destroy the city.”
30 Then Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me. Let me ask you this. If you find only 30 good people in the city, will you destroy it?”
The Lord said, “If I find 30 good people there, I will not destroy the city.”
31 Then Abraham said, “I have been brave to speak to the Lord. But what if there are 20 good people in the city?”
The Lord answered, “If I find 20 good people there, I will not destroy the city.”
32 Then Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me. Let me bother you this one last time. What if you find 10 good people there?”
The Lord said, “If I find 10 good people there, I will not destroy it.”
33 When the Lord finished speaking to Abraham, he left. And Abraham returned home.
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
12 About that same time, Jesus was walking through some fields of grain on a Sabbath day. His followers were with him, and they were hungry. So they began to pick the grain and eat it. 2 The Pharisees saw this, and they said to Jesus, “Look! Your followers are doing something that is against the Jewish law to do on the Sabbath day.”
3 Jesus answered, “Have you not read what David did when he and the people with him were hungry? 4 David went into God’s house. He and those with him ate the bread that was made holy for God. It was against the law for them to eat that bread. Only the priests were allowed to eat it. 5 And have you not read in the law of Moses that on every Sabbath day the priests in the Temple break this law about the Sabbath day? But the priests are not wrong for doing that. 6 I tell you that there is something here that is greater than the Temple. 7 The Scripture says, ‘I want faithful love more than I want animal sacrifices.’[a] You don’t really know what those words mean. If you understood them, you would not judge those who have done nothing wrong.
8 “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath day.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.