Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Cry for Help
69 Save me, O God, for the waters have almost taken my life. 2 I have gone down into deep mud and there is no place to put my feet. I have come into deep waters and a flood comes over me. 3 I have cried until I am tired. My mouth is dry. My eyes become weak while I wait for my God.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to You at the right time, O Lord. Answer me with Your saving truth in Your great loving-kindness, O God. 14 Take me out of the mud and do not let me go down in it. Take me away from those who hate me and from the deep waters. 15 Keep the flood water from covering me. Do not let the sea swallow me up. Do not let the deep hole close its mouth over me.
16 Answer me, O Lord, for Your loving-kindness is good. Turn to me because of Your great loving-pity.
30 I will praise the name of God with song. And I will give Him great honor with much thanks. 31 This will please the Lord more than any ox or young bull with horns and hoofs. 32 Those without pride will see it and be glad. You who look for God, let your heart receive new strength. 33 For the Lord hears those who are in need, and does not hate His people in prison.
34 Let heaven and earth and the seas and all the things that move in them give thanks to Him. 35 For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah. Then His people may live there and have it for their own. 36 And the children of those who obey Him will have it given to them. Those who love His name will live there.
Cain Kills Abel
4 The man lay with his wife Eve and she was going to have a child and she gave birth to Cain. She said, “I have given birth to a man with the help of the Lord.” 2 Next she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was one who worked the ground.
3 The day came when Cain brought a gift of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4 But Abel brought a gift of the first-born of his flocks and of the fat parts. The Lord showed favor to Abel and his gift. 5 But He had no respect for Cain and his gift. So Cain became very angry and his face became sad. 6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why are you looking down? 7 Will not your face be happy if you do well? If you do not do well, sin is waiting to destroy you. Its desire is to rule over you, but you must rule over it.”
8 Cain told this to his brother Abel. And when they were in the field, Cain stood up against his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 The Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground. 11 Now you are cursed because of the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer give its strength to you. You will always travel from place to place on the earth.”
13 Then Cain said to the Lord, “I am being punished more than I can take! 14 See, this day You have made me go away from the land. And I will be hidden from Your face. I will run away and move from place to place. And whoever finds me will kill me.”
15 So the Lord said to him, “Whoever kills Cain will be punished by Me seven times worse.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain so that any one who found him would not kill him.
16 Then Cain went away from the face of the Lord, and stayed in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
2 So you can say nothing because you are guilty when you say someone else is guilty. While you say someone is guilty, you are doing the same things he does. 2 We know that God will say those who do such things are guilty. 3 Do you think God will punish others for doing wrong and let you keep sinning? 4 Do you forget about His loving-kindness to you? Do you forget how long He is waiting for you? You know that God is kind. He is trying to get you to be sorry for your sins and turn from them. 5 Because you are not sorry for your sins and will not turn from them, you will be punished even more on the day of God’s anger. God will be right in saying you are guilty. 6 He will give to every man what he should get for the things he has done. 7 Those who keep on doing good and are looking for His greatness and honor will receive life that lasts forever. 8 Those who love only themselves and do not obey the truth, but do what is wrong, will be punished by God. His anger will be on them. 9 Every Jew and every person who is not a Jew who sins will suffer and have great sorrow. 10 But God will give His greatness and honor and peace to all those who obey the truth. Both Jews and those who are not Jews will receive this. 11 God does not show favor to one man more than to another.
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