Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Lord Can Be Trusted
1 (A) Praise the Lord
and pray in his name!
Tell everyone
what he has done.
2 Sing praises to the Lord!
Tell about his miracles.
3 Celebrate and worship
his holy name
with all your heart.
4 Trust the Lord
and his mighty power.
5 Remember his miracles
and all his wonders
and his fair decisions.
6 You belong to the family
of Abraham, his servant;
you are his chosen ones,
the descendants of Jacob.
45 He did this so that his people
would obey all his laws.
Shout praises to the Lord!
31 The Lord knew that Jacob loved Rachel more than he did Leah, and so he gave children to Leah, but not to Rachel. 32 Leah gave birth to a son and named him Reuben.[a] Then she said, “The Lord has taken away my sorrow. Now my husband will love me more than he does Rachel.” 33 She had a second son and named him Simeon,[b] because she said, “The Lord has heard that my husband doesn't love me.” 34 When Leah's third son was born, she said, “Now my husband will hold me close.” So this son was named Levi.[c] 35 She had one more son and named him Judah,[d] because she said, “I'll praise the Lord!”
Problems between Rachel and Leah
30 Rachel was very jealous of Leah for having children, and she said to Jacob, “I'll die if you don't give me some children!”
2 But Jacob became upset with Rachel and answered, “Don't blame me! I'm not God.”
3 “Here, take my servant Bilhah,” Rachel told him. “Have children by her, and I'll let them be born on my knees to show that they are mine.”
4 Then Rachel let Jacob marry Bilhah, 5 and they had a son. 6 Rachel named him Dan,[e] because she said, “God has answered my prayers. He judged in my favor and has given me a son.” 7 When Bilhah and Jacob had a second son, 8 Rachel said, “I've struggled hard with my sister, and I've won!” So she named the boy Naphtali.[f]
9 When Leah realized she could not have any more children, she let Jacob marry her servant Zilpah, 10 and they had a son. 11 “I'm really lucky,” Leah said, and she named the boy Gad.[g] 12 When they had another son, 13 Leah exclaimed, “I'm happy now, and all the women will say how happy I am.” So she named him Asher.[h]
Love Flowers
14 During the time of the wheat harvest, Reuben found some love flowers[i] and took them to his mother Leah. Rachel asked Leah for some of them, 15 but Leah said, “It's bad enough that you stole my husband! Now you want my son's love flowers too.”
“All right,” Rachel answered. “Let me have the flowers, and you can sleep with Jacob tonight.”
16 That evening when Jacob came in from the fields, Leah told him, “You're sleeping with me tonight. I hired you with my son's love flowers.”
They slept together that night, 17 and God answered Leah's prayers by giving her a fifth son. 18 Leah shouted, “God has rewarded me for letting Jacob marry my servant,” and she named the boy Issachar.[j]
19 When Leah had another son, 20 she exclaimed, “God has given me a wonderful gift, and my husband will praise me for giving him six sons.” So she named the boy Zebulun.[k] 21 Later, Leah had a daughter and named her Dinah.
22-23 Finally, God remembered Rachel—he answered her prayer by giving her a son. “God has taken away my disgrace,” she said. 24 “I'll name the boy Joseph,[l] and I'll pray that the Lord will give me another son.”
A Sign from Heaven
(Mark 8.11,12; Luke 11.29-32)
38 (A) Some Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a sign from heaven.”
39 (B) But Jesus replied:
You want a sign because you are evil and won't believe! But the only sign you will get is the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 (C) He was in the stomach of a big fish for three days and nights, just as the Son of Man will be deep in the earth for three days and nights. 41 (D) On the day of judgment the people of Nineveh[a] will stand there with you and condemn you. They turned to God when Jonah preached, and yet here is something far greater than Jonah. 42 (E) The Queen of the South[b] will also stand there with you and condemn you. She traveled a long way to hear Solomon's wisdom, and yet here is something much greater than Solomon.
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