Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
15 Laban said to him one day, “Just because we are relatives is no reason for you to work for me without pay. How much do you want?” 16 Now Laban had two daughters, Leah, the older, and her younger sister, Rachel. 17 Leah had lovely eyes, but Rachel was shapely, and in every way a beauty. 18 Well, Jacob was in love with Rachel. So he told her father, “I’ll work for you seven years if you’ll give me Rachel as my wife.”
19 “Agreed!” Laban replied. “I’d rather give her to you than to someone outside the family.”
20 So Jacob spent the next seven years working to pay for Rachel. But they seemed to him but a few days, he was so much in love. 21 Finally the time came for him to marry her.
“I have fulfilled my contract,” Jacob said to Laban. “Now give me my wife, so that I can sleep with her.”
22 So Laban invited all the men of the settlement to celebrate with Jacob at a big party. 23 Afterwards, that night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her. 24 (And Laban gave to Leah a servant girl, Zilpah, to be her maid.) 25 But in the morning—it was Leah!
“What sort of trick is this?” Jacob raged at Laban. “I worked for seven years for Rachel. What do you mean by this trickery?”
26 “It’s not our custom to marry off a younger daughter ahead of her sister,” Laban replied smoothly.[a] 27 “Wait until the bridal week is over and you can have Rachel too—if you promise to work for me another seven years!”
28 So Jacob agreed to work seven more years. Then Laban gave him Rachel, too.
105 Thank the Lord for all the glorious things he does; proclaim them to the nations. 2 Sing his praises and tell everyone about his miracles. 3 Glory in the Lord; O worshipers of God, rejoice.
4 Search for him and for his strength, and keep on searching!
5-6 Think of the mighty deeds he did for us, his chosen ones—descendants of God’s servant Abraham, and of Jacob. Remember how he destroyed our enemies. 7 He is the Lord our God. His goodness[a] is seen everywhere throughout the land. 8-9 Though a thousand generations pass he never forgets his promise, his covenant with Abraham and Isaac 10-11 and confirmed with Jacob. This is his never-ending treaty with the people of Israel: “I will give you the land of Canaan as your inheritance.”
45 This was done to make them faithful and obedient to his laws. Hallelujah!
128 Blessings on all who reverence and trust the Lord—on all who obey him!
2 Their reward shall be prosperity and happiness. 3 Your wife shall be contented in your home. And look at all those children! There they sit around the dinner table as vigorous and healthy as young olive trees. 4 That is God’s reward to those who reverence and trust him.
5 May the Lord continually bless you with heaven’s blessings[a] as well as with human joys. 6 May you live to enjoy your grandchildren! And may God bless Israel!
26 And in the same way—by our faith[a]—the Holy Spirit helps us with our daily problems and in our praying. For we don’t even know what we should pray for nor how to pray as we should, but the Holy Spirit prays for us with such feeling that it cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows, of course, what the Spirit is saying as he pleads for us in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans.
29 For from the very beginning God decided that those who came to him—and all along he knew who would—should become like his Son, so that his Son would be the First, with many brothers. 30 And having chosen us, he called us to come to him; and when we came, he declared us “not guilty,” filled us with Christ’s goodness, gave us right standing with himself, and promised us his glory.
31 What can we ever say to such wonderful things as these? If God is on our side, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son for us but gave him up for us all, won’t he also surely give us everything else?
33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? Will God? No! He is the one who has forgiven us and given us right standing with himself.
34 Who then will condemn us? Will Christ? No! For he is the one who died for us and came back to life again for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, pleading for us there in heaven.
35 Who then can ever keep Christ’s love from us? When we have trouble or calamity, when we are hunted down or destroyed, is it because he doesn’t love us anymore? And if we are hungry or penniless or in danger or threatened with death, has God deserted us?
36 No, for the Scriptures tell us that for his sake we must be ready to face death at every moment of the day—we are like sheep awaiting slaughter; 37 but despite all this, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ who loved us enough to die for us. 38 For I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels won’t, and all the powers of hell itself cannot keep God’s love away. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, 39 or where we are—high above the sky, or in the deepest ocean—nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when he died for us.
31-32 Here is another of his illustrations: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a tiny mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds but becomes the largest of plants, and grows into a tree where birds can come and find shelter.”
33 He also used this example:
“The Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a woman making bread. She takes a measure of flour and mixes in the yeast until it permeates every part of the dough.”
44 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure a man discovered in a field. In his excitement, he sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field—and get the treasure, too!
45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a pearl merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. 46 He discovered a real bargain—a pearl of great value—and sold everything he owned to purchase it!
47-48 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by a fisherman—he casts a net into the water and gathers in fish of every kind, valuable and worthless. When the net is full, he drags it up onto the beach and sits down and sorts out the edible ones into crates and throws the others away. 49 That is the way it will be at the end of the world—the angels will come and separate the wicked people from the godly, 50 casting the wicked into the fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51 Do you understand?”
“Yes,” they said, “we do.”
52 Then he added, “Those experts in Jewish law who are now my disciples have double treasures—from the Old Testament as well as from the New!”[a]
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.