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 Temptation and the Fall
3 Now[a] the serpent[b] was shrewder[c] than any of the wild animals[d] that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Is it really true that[e] God[f] said, ‘You must not eat from any tree of the orchard’?”[g] 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat[h] of the fruit from the trees of the orchard; 3 but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God said, ‘You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it,[i] or else you will die.’”[j] 4 The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die,[k] 5 for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open[l] and you will be like God, knowing[m] good and evil.”[n]
6 When[o] the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food,[p] was attractive[q] to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise,[r] she took some of its fruit and ate it.[s] She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.[t] 7 Then the eyes of both of them opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
The Judgment Oracles of God at the Fall
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God moving about[u] in the orchard at the breezy time[v] of the day, and they hid[w] from the Lord God among the trees of the orchard. 9 But the Lord God called to[x] the man and said to him, “Where are you?”[y] 10 The man replied,[z] “I heard you moving about[aa] in the orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” 11 And the Lord God[ab] said, “Who told you that you were naked?[ac] Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”[ad] 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave me, she gave[ae] me some fruit[af] from the tree and I ate it.” 13 So the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this[ag] you have done?” And the woman replied, “The serpent[ah] tricked[ai] me, and I ate.”
14 The Lord God said to the serpent,[aj]
“Because you have done this,
cursed[ak] are you above all the cattle
and all the living creatures of the field!
On your belly you will crawl[al]
and dust you will eat[am] all the days of your life.
15 And I will put hostility[an] between you and the woman
and between your offspring and her offspring;[ao]
he[ap] will strike your head,
and[aq] you[ar] will strike[as] his heel.”[at]
16 To the woman he said,
“I will greatly increase[au] your labor pains;[av]
with pain you will give birth to children.
You will want to control your husband,[aw]
but he will dominate[ax] you.”
17 But to Adam[ay] he said,
“Because you obeyed[az] your wife
and ate from the tree about which I commanded you,
‘You must not eat from it,’
the ground is cursed[ba] because of you;
in painful toil you will eat[bb] of it all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
but you will eat the grain[bc] of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow[bd] you will eat food
until you return to the ground,[be]
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust, and to dust you will return.”[bf]
20 The man[bg] named his wife Eve,[bh] because[bi] she was the mother of all the living.[bj] 21 The Lord God made garments from skin[bk] for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. 22 And the Lord God said, “Now[bl] that the man has become like one of us,[bm] knowing[bn] good and evil, he must not be allowed[bo] to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God expelled him[bp] from the orchard in Eden to cultivate the ground from which he had been taken. 24 When he drove[bq] the man out, he placed on the eastern side[br] of the orchard in Eden angelic sentries[bs] who used the flame of a whirling sword[bt] to guard the way to the tree of life.
Do Not Judge
7 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.[a] 2 For by the standard you judge you will be judged, and the measure you use will be the measure you receive.[b] 3 Why[c] do you see the speck[d] in your brother’s eye, but fail to see[e] the beam of wood[f] in your own? 4 Or how can you say[g] to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while there is a beam in your own? 5 You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. 6 Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs; otherwise they will trample them under their feet and turn around and tear you to pieces.[h]
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