Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Chapter 2
1 And Hannah prayed:[a]
“My heart exults in the Lord,
my horn is exalted by my God.
I have swallowed up my enemies;
I rejoice in your victory.(A)
2 There is no Holy One like the Lord;
there is no Rock like our God.(B)
3 Speak boastfully no longer,
Do not let arrogance issue from your mouths.[b]
For an all-knowing God is the Lord,
a God who weighs actions.(C)
4 “The bows of the mighty are broken,
while the tottering gird on strength.(D)
5 The well-fed hire themselves out for bread,
while the hungry no longer have to toil.
The barren wife bears seven sons,
while the mother of many languishes.(E)
6 “The Lord puts to death and gives life,
casts down to Sheol and brings up again.(F)
7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich,
humbles, and also exalts.
8 He raises the needy from the dust;
from the ash heap lifts up the poor,
To seat them with nobles
and make a glorious throne their heritage.
“For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
and he has set the world upon them.(G)
9 He guards the footsteps of his faithful ones,
but the wicked shall perish in the darkness;
for not by strength does one prevail.
10 The Lord’s foes shall be shattered;
the Most High in heaven thunders;
the Lord judges the ends of the earth.
May he give strength to his king,
and exalt the horn of his anointed!”(H)
2 This is the story of the family of Jacob.[a] When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flocks with his brothers; he was an assistant to the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah, and Joseph brought their father bad reports about them. 3 Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons, for he was the child of his old age; and he had made him a long ornamented tunic.[b] 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him best of all his brothers, they hated him so much that they could not say a kind word to him.
5 [c]Once Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers, they hated him even more.(A) 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had. 7 There we were, binding sheaves in the field, when suddenly my sheaf rose to an upright position, and your sheaves formed a ring around my sheaf and bowed down to it.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Are you really going to make yourself king over us? Will you rule over us?” So they hated him all the more because of his dreams and his reports.(B)
9 Then he had another dream, and told it to his brothers. “Look, I had another dream,” he said; “this time, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 When he told it to his father and his brothers, his father reproved him and asked, “What is the meaning of this dream of yours? Can it be that I and your mother and your brothers are to come and bow to the ground before you?” 11 So his brothers were furious at him but his father kept the matter in mind.
I. The Infancy Narrative
Chapter 1
The Genealogy of Jesus.[a] 1 (A)The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.[b]
2 (B)Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.(C) 3 Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar.(D) Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4 (E)Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 (F)Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse, 6 (G)Jesse the father of David the king.
David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. 7 [c](H)Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asaph. 8 Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah. 9 Uzziah became the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos,[d] Amos the father of Josiah. 11 Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exile.
12 (I)After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, 15 Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Messiah.
17 Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah, fourteen generations.[e]
The Birth of Jesus.[f]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.