Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A song. A Psalm of Asaph
A Plea for Judgment
83 God, do not rest!
Don’t be silent!
Don’t stay inactive, God!
2 See! Your enemies rage;
those who hate you issue threats.[a]
3 They plot against[b] your people
and conspire against your cherished ones.
4 They say, “Let us go and erase them as a nation
so the name of Israel will not be remembered anymore.”
5 Indeed, they shrewdly planned together,
forming an alliance against you—
6 the tents of Edom, the Ishmaelites,
Moab, the Hagrites,
7 Gebal, Ammon, Amalek, Philistia,
and the inhabitants of Tyre.
8 Even Assyria joined them
to strengthen the descendants of Lot.
9 Deal with them as you did to Midian,[c]
Sisera, and Jabin at the Kishon Brook.[d]
10 They were destroyed at En-dor
and became as dung on the ground.
11 Punish their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,[e]
and all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,[f]
12 who said, “Let us possess the pastures of God.”
13 God, set them up like dried thistles,
like straw before the wind.
14 Like a fire burning a forest,
and a flame setting mountains ablaze.
15 Pursue them with your storm and
terrify them with your whirlwind.
16 Fill their faces with shame
until they seek your name, God.
17 Let them be humiliated and terrified permanently
until they die in shame.[g]
18 Then they will know that you alone—
whose name is Lord—
are the Most High over all the earth.
17 So Jacob got up, seated his children and wives on camels, 18 and drove all his livestock ahead of him, with everything that belonged to him, including the livestock that he had bought and accumulated in Paddan-aram,[a] intending to deliver them to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.
Laban Pursues Jacob
19 Meanwhile, Laban had been out shearing his sheep. While he was away, Rachel stole her father’s personal idols.[b] 20 Moreover, Jacob had deceived[c] Laban the Aramean,[d] because he had never told him that he was intending to leave. 21 Jacob fled, taking everything that he owned. He got up, crossed the river,[e] and headed to the hill country of Gilead. 22 Three days later, somebody reported to Laban that Jacob had left, 23 so he took his relatives with him and pursued Jacob. Laban[f] was on the road for seven days when he finally caught up with Jacob[g] in the hill country of Gilead.
God Warns Laban
24 That night, God appeared to Laban the Aramean[h] in a dream and warned him, “Be careful what you say to Jacob, whether it’s one word good or bad.” 25 Meanwhile, Jacob had pitched his tent on the mountain, where Laban had caught up with him.[i] Laban and his relatives encamped on that same mountain in the hill country of Gilead, too.
26 Then Laban asked Jacob, “What did you do? You deceived me,[j] carried off my daughters like you would war captives,[k] 27 ran away from me secretly,[l] and stole from me by not keeping me informed. Otherwise, I could have sent you off with a party and singing, accompanied by a band playing tambourines and harps. 28 As it is, you didn’t even allow me to kiss my grandchildren[m] and daughters goodbye! You’ve acted foolishly. 29 It’s actually in my power to do some serious[n] evil to you, but last night the God of your father told me, ‘Be careful what you say to Jacob whether good or evil.’ 30 Now, you can go if you must go, because you certainly are longing to go to your father’s house. But why did you steal my gods?”
Laban Searches for His Idols
31 “I was afraid,” Jacob replied. “I thought you might take your daughters from me. 32 Now as to your gods, if you find someone has them in their possession, he’s a dead man.[o] Take our relatives as witnesses, search through our belongings, and take whatever belongs to you that’s in my possession.” But Jacob didn’t know that Rachel had stolen the idols.[p] 33 So Laban entered Jacob’s tent, Leah’s tent, and the tents of the two maid servants, but he didn’t find them.[q] Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent.
34 Meanwhile, Rachel had taken the idols,[r] placed them inside the saddle of her camel, and sat on them. Laban searched through the whole tent, but found nothing. 35 Then Rachel told her father, “Sir, please don’t be angry that I cannot stand up in your presence. It’s that time of the month.”[s] So Laban[t] searched for the idols,[u] but never did find them.[v]
Believers are Approved by God
3 You foolish Galatians! Who put you under a spell? Was not Jesus the Messiah[a] clearly portrayed before your very eyes as having been crucified? 2 I want to learn only one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by doing[b] the actions of the Law or by believing what you heard?[c] 3 Are you so foolish? Having started out with the Spirit, are you now ending up with the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so much for nothing? (If it really was for nothing!) 5 Does God[d] supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you because you do the actions[e] of the Law or because you believe what you heard?[f] 6 In the same way, Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[g]
7 You see, then, that those who have faith are Abraham’s real descendants. 8 Because the Scripture saw ahead of time that God would justify the gentiles[h] by faith, it announced the gospel to Abraham beforehand when it said, “Through you all nations[i] will be blessed.”[j] 9 Therefore, those who believe are blessed together with Abraham, the one who believed.
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