Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
She Speaks Again
8 I hear my lover’s voice.
Here it comes, jumping over the mountains,
skipping over the hills.
9 My lover is like a gazelle
or a young deer.
Look at him standing behind our wall,
staring out the window,
looking through the lattice.[a]
10 My lover speaks to me,
“Get up, my darling, my beautiful one.
Let’s go away!
11 Look, winter is past,
the rains have come and gone.
12 The flowers are blooming in the fields.
It’s time to sing![b]
Listen, the doves have returned.
13 Young figs are growing on the fig trees.
Smell the vines in bloom.
Get up, my darling, my beautiful one.
Let’s go away!”
Jacob Meets Rachel
29 Then Jacob continued his trip. He went to the country in the East. 2 He looked and saw a well in the field. There were three flocks of sheep lying near the well, where the sheep drank water. There was a large rock covering the mouth of the well. 3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the rock away from the well. Then all the sheep could drink from the water. After the sheep were full, the shepherds would put the rock back in its place.
4 Jacob said to the shepherds there, “Brothers, where are you from?”
They answered, “We are from Haran.”
5 Then Jacob said, “Do you know Laban, the son of Nahor?”
The shepherds answered, “We know him.”
6 Then Jacob said, “How is he?”
They answered, “He is well. Look, that is his daughter Rachel coming now with his sheep.”
7 Jacob said, “Look, it is still day and long before the sun sets. It is not yet time for the animals to be gathered together for the night. So give them water and let them go back into the field.”
8 But they said, “We cannot do that until all the flocks are gathered together. Then we will move the rock from the well, and all the sheep will drink.”
9 While Jacob was talking with the shepherds, Rachel came with her father’s sheep. (It was her job to take care of the sheep.) 10 Rachel was Laban’s daughter. Laban was the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s mother. When Jacob saw Rachel, he went and moved the rock and gave water to the sheep. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and cried. 12 He told her that he was from her father’s family. He told her that he was the son of Rebekah. So Rachel ran home and told her father.
13 When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him. Laban hugged him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban everything that had happened.
14 Then Laban said, “This is wonderful! You are from my own family.” So Jacob stayed with Laban for a month.
3 So, do Jews have anything that others don’t have? Do they get any benefit from being circumcised? 2 Yes, the Jews have many benefits. The most important one is this: God trusted the Jews with his teachings. 3 It is true that some Jews were not faithful to God. But will that stop God from doing what he promised? 4 No, even if everyone else is a liar, God will always do what he says. As the Scriptures say about him,
“You will be proved right in what you say,
and you will win when people accuse you.” (A)
5 When we do wrong, that shows more clearly that God is right. So can we say that God does wrong when he punishes us? (That’s the way some people think.) 6 Of course not. If God could not punish us, how could he judge the world?
7 Someone might say, “When I lie, it really gives God glory, because my lie makes his truth easier to see. So why am I judged a sinner?” 8 It would be the same to say, “We should do evil so that good will come.” Many people criticize us, saying that’s what we teach. They are wrong, and they should be condemned for saying that.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International