Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God Is with Us[a]
46 God is our shelter and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.
2 So we will not be afraid, even if the earth is shaken
and mountains fall into the ocean depths;
3 even if the seas roar and rage,
and the hills are shaken by the violence.
4 There is a river that brings joy to the city of God,
to the sacred house of the Most High.
5 God is in that city, and it will never be destroyed;
at early dawn he will come to its aid.
6 Nations are terrified, kingdoms are shaken;
God thunders, and the earth dissolves.
7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
8 Come and see what the Lord has done.
See what amazing things he has done on earth.
9 He stops wars all over the world;
he breaks bows, destroys spears,
and sets shields on fire.
10 “Stop fighting,” he says, “and know that I am God,
supreme among the nations,
supreme over the world.”
11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
4 And that is how the universe was created.
The Garden of Eden
When the Lord[a] God made the universe, 5 there were no plants on the earth and no seeds had sprouted, because he had not sent any rain, and there was no one to cultivate the land; 6 but water would come up from beneath the surface and water the ground.
7 (A)Then the Lord God took some soil from the ground and formed a man[b] out of it; he breathed life-giving breath into his nostrils and the man began to live.
8 Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the East, and there he put the man he had formed. 9 (B)He made all kinds of beautiful trees grow there and produce good fruit. In the middle of the garden stood the tree that gives life and the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad.[c]
10 A stream flowed in Eden and watered the garden; beyond Eden it divided into four rivers. 11 The first river is the Pishon; it flows around the country of Havilah. (12 Pure gold is found there and also rare perfume and precious stones.) 13 The second river is the Gihon; it flows around the country of Cush.[d] 14 The third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria, and the fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 Then the Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and guard it. 16 He told him, “You may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, 17 except the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad.[e] You must not eat the fruit of that tree; if you do, you will die the same day.”
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to live alone. I will make a suitable companion to help him.” 19 So he took some soil from the ground and formed all the animals and all the birds. Then he brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and that is how they all got their names. 20 So the man named all the birds and all the animals; but not one of them was a suitable companion to help him.
21 Then the Lord God made the man fall into a deep sleep, and while he was sleeping, he took out one of the man's ribs and closed up the flesh. 22 He formed a woman out of the rib and brought her to him. 23 Then the man said,
“At last, here is one of my own kind—
Bone taken from my bone, and flesh from my flesh.
‘Woman’ is her name because she was taken out of man.”[f]
24 (C)That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united with his wife, and they become one.
25 The man and the woman were both naked, but they were not embarrassed.
6 I am not saying that the promise of God has failed; for not all the people of Israel are the people of God. 7 (A)Nor are all of Abraham's descendants the children of God. God said to Abraham, “It is through Isaac that you will have the descendants I promised you.” 8 This means that the children born in the usual way[a] are not the children of God; instead, the children born as a result of God's promise are regarded as the true descendants. 9 (B)For God's promise was made in these words: “At the right time[b] I will come back, and Sarah will have a son.”
10 And this is not all. For Rebecca's two sons had the same father, our ancestor Isaac. 11-12 (C)But in order that the choice of one son might be completely the result of God's own purpose, God said to her, “The older will serve the younger.” He said this before they were born, before they had done anything either good or bad; so God's choice was based on his call, and not on anything they had done. 13 (D)As the scripture says, “I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau.”
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.