Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God the Refuge of His People and Conqueror of the Nations
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song (A)for Alamoth.
46 God is our (B)refuge and strength,
(C)A[a] very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the [b]midst of the sea;
3 (D)Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah
4 There is a (E)river whose streams shall make glad the (F)city of God,
The holy place of the [c]tabernacle of the Most High.
5 God is (G)in the midst of her, she shall not be [d]moved;
God shall help her, just [e]at the break of dawn.
6 (H)The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;
He uttered His voice, the earth melted.
7 The (I)Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
Who has made desolations in the earth.
9 (J)He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
(K)He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
(L)He burns the chariot in the fire.
10 Be still, and know that I am God;
(M)I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
The History of Creation(A)
1 In the (B)beginning (C)God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was (D)without form, and void; and darkness [a]was on the face of the deep. (E)And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3 (F)Then God said, (G)“Let there be (H)light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the (I)darkness He called Night. [b]So the evening and the morning were the first day.
6 Then God said, (J)“Let there be a [c]firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Thus God made the firmament, (K)and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were (L)above the firmament; and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.
9 Then God said, (M)“Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and (N)let the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the earth (O)bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the (P)fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 So the evening and the morning were the third day.
14 Then God said, “Let there be (Q)lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and (R)seasons, and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16 Then God made two great [d]lights: the (S)greater light to rule the day, and the (T)lesser light to rule the night. He made (U)the stars also. 17 God set them in the firmament of the (V)heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to (W)rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
20 Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living [e]creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the [f]firmament of the heavens.” 21 So (X)God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, (Y)“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, (Z)“Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; (AA)let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over [g]all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man (AB)in His own image; in the image of God He created him; (AC)male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, (AD)“Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and (AE)subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that [h]moves on the earth.”
29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; (AF)to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to (AG)every beast of the earth, to every (AH)bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is [i]life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. 31 Then (AI)God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
The Garden of Eden
2 Thus the heavens and the earth, and (AJ)all the host of them, were finished. 2 (AK)And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God (AL)blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
4 (AM)This is the [j]history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,
The Jews Guilty as the Gentiles
17 [a]Indeed (A)you are called a Jew, and (B)rest[b] on the law, (C)and make your boast in God, 18 and (D)know His will, and (E)approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, 19 and (F)are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, (G)having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. 21 (H)You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? 22 You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, (I)do you rob temples? 23 You who (J)make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? 24 For (K)“the name of God is (L)blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written.
Circumcision of No Avail
25 (M)For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 Therefore, (N)if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? 27 And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, (O)judge you who, even with your [c]written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? 28 For (P)he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew (Q)who is one inwardly; and (R)circumcision is that of the heart, (S)in the Spirit, not in the letter; (T)whose [d]praise is not from men but from God.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.