Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Jacob’s Deception

27 Now it came about, when Isaac was old and ^(A)his eyes were too dim to see, that he called his ^(B)older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” ² Then ^[a](C)Isaac said, “Behold now, I am old and I do not know the day of my death. ³ Now then, please take your gear, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and ^(D)hunt game for me; ⁴ and prepare a delicious meal for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that ^(E)my soul may bless you before I die.”

⁵ Now Rebekah was listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game to bring home, ^6 (F)Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Behold, I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, saying, ⁷ ‘Bring me some game and prepare a delicious meal for me, so that I may eat, and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ ⁸ So now, my son, ^(G)listen to ^[b]me ^[c]as I command you. ⁹ Go now to the flock and ^[d]bring me two choice ^[e]young goats from there, so that I may prepare them as a delicious meal for your father, such as he loves. ¹⁰ Then you shall bring it to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his death.” ¹¹ But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “Behold, my brother Esau is a ^(H)hairy man and I am a smooth man. ^12 (I)Perhaps my father will touch me, then I will be like a ^[f]deceiver in his sight, and I will bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing.” ¹³ But his mother said to him, “Your curse be on me, my son; only ^(J)obey my voice, and go, get the goats for me.” ¹⁴ So he went and got them, and brought them to his mother; and his mother made a delicious meal such as his father loved. ¹⁵ Then Rebekah took the ^[g]best ^(K)garments of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. ¹⁶ And she put the skins of the ^[h]young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. ¹⁷ She also gave the delicious meal and the bread which she had made ^[i]to her son Jacob.

^7 (A)What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? ^[a](B)Far from it! On the contrary, ^(C)I would not have come to know sin except ^[b]through the Law; for I would not have known about ^[c]coveting if the Law had not said, “^(D)You shall not ^[d]covet.” ⁸ But sin, ^(E)taking an opportunity ^(F)through the commandment, produced in me ^[e]coveting of every kind; for ^(G)apart ^[f]from the Law sin is dead. ⁹ I was once alive apart ^[g]from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin came to life, and I died; ¹⁰ and this commandment, which was ^[h](H)to result in life, proved ^[i]to result in death for me; ¹¹ for sin, ^(I)taking an opportunity ^(J)through the commandment, ^(K)deceived me, and through it, killed me. ^12 (L)So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

¹³ Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? ^[j](M)Far from it! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by bringing about my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.

The Conflict of Serving Two Masters

¹⁴ For we know that the Law is ^(N)spiritual, but I am ^(O)fleshly, ^(P)sold ^[k](Q)into bondage to sin. ¹⁵ For ^(R)I do not understand what I am doing; for I am not practicing ^(S)what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate. ¹⁶ However, if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with ^(T)the Law, that the Law is good. ¹⁷ But now, ^(U)no longer am I the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me. ¹⁸ For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my ^(V)flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. ¹⁹ For ^(W)the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. ²⁰ But if I do the very thing I do not want, ^(X)I am no longer the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me.