Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

(A special song by the clan of Korah and for the music leader.)

God Is Our Mighty Fortress

The Story of Creation

The First Day

^3 (A) God said, “I command light to shine!” And light started shining. ⁴ God looked at the light and saw that it was good. He separated light from darkness ⁵ and named the light “Day” and the darkness “Night.” Evening came, then morning—that was the first day.^[d]

The Second Day

^6 (B) God said, “I command a dome to separate the water above it from the water below it.” ⁷ And that's what happened. God made the dome ⁸ and named it “Sky.” Evening came, then morning—that was the second day.

The Third Day

⁹ God said, “I command the water under the sky to come together in one place, so there will be dry ground.” And that's what happened. ¹⁰ God named the dry ground “Land,” and he named the water “Ocean.” God looked at what he had done and saw that it was good.

¹¹ God said, “I command the earth to produce all kinds of plants, including fruit trees and grain.” And that's what happened. ¹² The earth produced all kinds of vegetation. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. ¹³ Evening came, then morning—that was the third day.

The Fourth Day

¹⁴ God said, “I command lights to appear in the sky and to separate day from night and to show the time for seasons, special days, and years. ¹⁵ I command them to shine on the earth.” And that's what happened. ¹⁶ God made two powerful lights, the brighter one to rule the day and the other^[e] to rule the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ Then God put these lights in the sky to shine on the earth, ¹⁸ to rule day and night, and to separate light from darkness. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. ¹⁹ Evening came, then morning—that was the fourth day.

The Fifth Day

²⁰ God said, “I command the ocean to be full of living creatures, and I command birds to fly above the earth.” ²¹ So God made the giant sea monsters and all the living creatures that swim in the ocean. He also made every kind of bird. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. ²² Then he gave the living creatures his blessing—he told the ocean creatures to increase and live everywhere in the ocean and the birds to increase everywhere on earth. ²³ Evening came, then morning—that was the fifth day.

The Sixth Day

²⁴ God said, “I command the earth to give life to all kinds of tame animals, wild animals, and reptiles.” And that's what happened. ²⁵ God made every one of them. Then he looked at what he had done, and it was good.

^26 (C) God said, “Now we will make humans, and they will be like us. We will let them rule the fish, the birds, and all other living creatures.”

^27 (D)(E) So God created humans to be like himself; he made men and women. ²⁸ God gave them his blessing and said:

Have a lot of children! Fill the earth with people and bring it under your control. Rule over the fish in the ocean, the birds in the sky, and every animal on the earth.

²⁹ I have provided all kinds of fruit and grain for you to eat. ³⁰ And I have given the green plants as food for everything else that breathes, including animals, both wild and tame, and birds. And so it was.

³¹ God looked at what he had done. All of it was very good! Evening came, then morning—that was the sixth day.

2 So the heavens and the earth and everything else were created.

The Seventh Day

^2 (F)(G) By the seventh day God had finished his work, and so he rested. ³ God blessed the seventh day and made it special, because on that day he rested from his work.

⁴ That's how God created the heavens and the earth.

The Garden of Eden

When the Lord God made the heavens and the earth,

The Jews and the Law

¹⁷ Some of you call yourselves Jews. You trust in the Law and take pride in God. ¹⁸ By reading the Scriptures you learn how God wants you to behave, and you discover what is right. ¹⁹ You are sure that you are a guide for the blind and a light for all who are in the dark. ²⁰ And since there is knowledge and truth in God's Law, you think you can instruct fools and teach young people.

²¹ But how can you teach others when you refuse to learn? You preach it is wrong to steal. But do you steal? ²² You say people should be faithful in marriage. But are you faithful? You hate idols, yet you rob their temples. ²³ You take pride in the Law, but you disobey the Law and bring shame to God. ^24 (A) It is just as the Scriptures tell us, “You have made foreigners say insulting things about God.”

²⁵ Being circumcised is worthwhile, if you obey the Law. But if you don't obey the Law, you are no better off than people who are not circumcised. ²⁶ In fact, if they obey the Law, they are as good as anyone who is circumcised. ²⁷ So everyone who obeys the Law, but has never been circumcised, will condemn you. Even though you are circumcised and have the Law, you still don't obey its teachings.

²⁸ Just because you live like a Jew and are circumcised doesn't make you a real Jew. ^29 (B) To be a real Jew you must obey the Law. True circumcision is something that happens deep in your heart, not something done to your body. And besides, you should want praise from God and not from humans.