Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 46[a]
For the music director, by the Korahites; according to the alamoth style;[b] a song.
46 God is our strong refuge;[c]
he is truly our helper in times of trouble.[d]
2 For this reason we do not fear[e] when the earth shakes,[f]
and the mountains tumble into the depths of the sea,[g]
3 when its waves[h] crash[i] and foam,
and the mountains shake[j] before the surging sea.[k] (Selah)
4 The river’s channels bring joy to the city of God,[l]
the special, holy dwelling place of[m] the Most High.[n]
5 God lives within it,[o] it cannot be moved.[p]
God rescues it[q] at the break of dawn.[r]
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms are overthrown.[s]
God[t] gives a shout,[u] the earth dissolves.[v]
7 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is on our side.[w]
The God of Jacob[x] is our stronghold.[y] (Selah)
8 Come, Witness the exploits[z] of the Lord,
who brings devastation to the earth.[aa]
9 He brings an end to wars throughout the earth.[ab]
He shatters[ac] the bow and breaks[ad] the spear;
he burns[ae] the shields with fire.[af]
10 He says,[ag] “Stop your striving and recognize[ah] that I am God.
I will be exalted[ai] over[aj] the nations! I will be exalted over[ak] the earth!”
11 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is on our side![al]
The God of Jacob[am] is our stronghold![an] (Selah)
The Creation of Man and Woman
4 This is the account[a] of the heavens and the earth[b] when they were created—when[c] the Lord God[d] made the earth and heavens.[e]
5 Now[f] no shrub of the field had yet grown on the earth, and no plant of the field[g] had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.[h] 6 Springs[i] would well up[j] from the earth and water[k] the whole surface of the ground.[l] 7 The Lord God formed[m] the man from the soil of the ground[n] and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,[o] and the man became a living being.[p]
8 The Lord God planted an orchard[q] in the east,[r] in Eden;[s] and there he placed the man he had formed.[t] 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow from the soil,[u] every tree that was pleasing to look at[v] and good for food. (Now[w] the tree of life[x] and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil[y] were in the middle of the orchard.)
10 Now[z] a river flows[aa] from Eden[ab] to water the orchard, and from there it divides[ac] into four headstreams.[ad] 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it runs through[ae] the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is pure;[af] pearls[ag] and lapis lazuli[ah] are also there). 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it runs through[ai] the entire land of Cush.[aj] 14 The name of the third river is Tigris; it runs along the east side of Assyria.[ak] The fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 The Lord God took the man and placed[al] him in the orchard in[am] Eden to care for it and to maintain it.[an] 16 Then the Lord God commanded[ao] the man, “You may freely eat[ap] fruit[aq] from every tree of the orchard, 17 but[ar] you must not eat[as] from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when[at] you eat from it you will surely die.”[au]
18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.[av] I will make a companion[aw] for him who corresponds to him.”[ax] 19 The Lord God formed[ay] out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would[az] name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man named all the animals, the birds of the air, and the living creatures of the field, but for Adam[ba] no companion who corresponded to him was found.[bb] 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep,[bc] and while he was asleep,[bd] he took part of the man’s side[be] and closed up the place with flesh.[bf] 22 Then the Lord God made[bg] a woman from the part he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,
“This one at last[bh] is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
this one will be called[bi] ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of[bj] man.”[bk]
24 That is why[bl] a man leaves[bm] his father and mother and unites with[bn] his wife, and they become one family.[bo] 25 The man and his wife were both naked,[bp] but they were not ashamed.[bq]
6 It is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all those who are descended from Israel are truly Israel,[a] 7 nor are all the children Abraham’s true descendants; rather “through Isaac will your descendants be counted.”[b] 8 This means[c] it is not the children of the flesh[d] who are the children of God; rather, the children of promise are counted as descendants. 9 For this is what the promise declared:[e] “About a year from now[f] I will return and Sarah will have a son.”[g] 10 Not only that, but when Rebekah had conceived children by one man,[h] our ancestor Isaac— 11 even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose in election[i] would stand, not by works but by[j] his calling)[k]— 12 [l] it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger,”[m] 13 just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”[n]
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