Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Davidic Song of Ascents
Up to Jerusalem
122 I rejoiced when they kept on asking me,
“Let us go to the Lord’s Temple.”
2 Our feet are standing
inside your gates, Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem stands built up,
a city knitted together.
4 To it the tribes ascend—
the tribes of the Lord—
as decreed to Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 For thrones are established there for judgment,
thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for peace for Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be at peace![a]
7 May peace be within your ramparts,
and[b] prosperity[c] within your fortresses.”
8 For the sake of my relatives and friends
I will now say, “May there be peace within you.”
9 For the sake of the Temple of the Lord our God,
I will seek your welfare.
Human Corruption
6 Now after the population of human beings had increased throughout the[a] earth, and daughters had been born to them, 2 some divine beings[b] noticed how attractive human women[c] were, so they took wives for themselves from a selection that pleased them.[d] 3 So the Lord said, “My Spirit won’t remain[e] with human beings forever, because they’re truly mortal.[f] Their lifespan[g] will be 120 years.”
4 The Nephilim[h] were on the earth at that time[i] (and also immediately afterward), when those divine beings[j] were having sexual relations with[k] those human women,[l] who gave birth to children for them. These children[m] became the heroes and legendary figures of ancient times.[n]
God Decides to Destroy the World
5 The Lord saw that human evil was growing more and more throughout the earth, with every inclination of people’s thoughts[o] becoming only evil on a continuous basis. 6 Then the Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and he was deeply grieved about that.[p] 7 So the Lord said, “I will annihilate these human beings whom I’ve created from the[q] earth, including people, animals, crawling things, and flying creatures, because I’m grieving that I made them.” 8 However, the Lord was pleased with Noah.
Noah Obeys God
9 These are the family records[r] of Noah: Noah was a righteous man. Blameless during his times,[s] Noah communed[t] with God. 10 Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
The Meaning of Faith
11 Now faith is the assurance that what we hope for will come about[a] and the certainty that what we cannot see exists.[b] 2 By faith our ancestors won approval.
3 By faith we understand that time was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are invisible.
4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did,[c] and by faith[d] he was declared to be righteous, since God himself accepted his offerings. And by faith[e] he continues to speak, even though he is dead.
5 By faith Enoch was taken away without experiencing death. He could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he won approval as one who pleased God. 6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently search for him.
7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, reverently prepared an ark to save his family, and by faith[f] he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes by faith.
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