Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹⁵ Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work the ground and care for it. ¹⁶ The Lord God told the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden. ¹⁷ But do not eat from the tree of learning of good and bad. For the day you eat from it you will die for sure.”

Man Does Not Obey God

3 Now the snake was more able to fool others than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say that you should not eat from any tree in the garden?” ² Then the woman said to the snake, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden. ³ But from the tree which is in the center of the garden, God has said, ‘Do not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’”

⁴ The snake said to the woman, “No, you for sure will not die! ⁵ For God knows that when you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and bad.” ⁶ The woman saw that the tree was good for food, and pleasing to the eyes, and could fill the desire of making one wise. So she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband, and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were without clothes. So they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves clothing.

Joy of Being Forgiven

32 How happy he is whose wrong-doing is forgiven, and whose sin is covered! ² How happy is the man whose sin the Lord does not hold against him, and in whose spirit there is nothing false.

³ When I kept quiet about my sin, my bones wasted away from crying all day long. ⁴ For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me. My strength was dried up as in the hot summer. ⁵ I told my sin to You. I did not hide my wrong-doing. I said, “I will tell my sins to the Lord.” And You forgave the guilt of my sin. ⁶ So let all who are God-like pray to You while You may be found, because in the floods of much water, they will not touch him. ⁷ You are my hiding place. You keep me safe from trouble. All around me are your songs of being made free.

⁸ I will show you and teach you in the way you should go. I will tell you what to do with My eye upon you. ⁹ Do not be like the horse or the donkey which have no understanding. They must be made to work by using bits and leather ropes or they will not come to you. ¹⁰ Many are the sorrows of the sinful. But loving-kindness will be all around the man who trusts in the Lord. ¹¹ Be glad in the Lord and be full of joy, you who are right with God! Sing for joy all you who are pure in heart!

¹² This is what happened: Sin came into the world by one man, Adam. Sin brought death with it. Death spread to all men because all have sinned. ¹³ Sin was in the world before the Law was given. But sin is not held against a person when there is no Law. ¹⁴ And yet death had power over men from the time of Adam until the time of Moses. Even the power of death was over those who had not sinned in the same way Adam sinned. Adam was like the One Who was to come.

¹⁵ God’s free gift is not like the sin of Adam. Many people died because of the sin of this one man, Adam. But the loving-favor of God came to many people also. This gift came also by one Man Jesus Christ, God’s Son. ¹⁶ The free gift of God is not like Adam’s sin. God told Adam he was guilty because of his sin and through this one came sin and guilt. But the free gift makes men right with God. Through One, Christ, men’s sins are forgiven. ¹⁷ The power of death was over all men because of the sin of one man, Adam. But many people will receive His loving-favor and the gift of being made right with God. They will have power in life by Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ Through Adam’s sin, death and hell came to all men. But another Man, Christ, by His right act makes men free and gives them life. ¹⁹ Adam did not obey God, and many people become sinners through him. Christ obeyed God and makes many people right with Himself.

Jesus Was Tempted ^(A)

4 Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to a desert. There He was tempted by the devil. ² Jesus went without food for forty days and forty nights. After that He was hungry. ³ The devil came tempting Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to be made into bread.” ⁴ But Jesus said, “It is written, ‘Man is not to live on bread only. Man is to live by every word that God speaks.’” ^(B)

⁵ Then the devil took Jesus up to Jerusalem, the holy city. He had Jesus stand on the highest part of the house of God. ⁶ The devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. It is written, ‘He has told His angels to look after You. In their hands they will hold You up. Then Your foot will not hit against a stone.’” ^{(C) 7} Jesus said to the devil, “It is written also, ‘You must not tempt the Lord your God.’” ^(D)

⁸ Again the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain. He had Jesus look at all the nations of the world to see how great they were. ⁹ He said to Jesus, “I will give You all these nations if You will get down at my feet and worship me.” ¹⁰ Jesus said to the devil, “Get away, Satan. It is written, ‘You must worship the Lord your God. You must obey Him only.’” ^{(E) 11} Then the devil went away from Jesus. Angels came and cared for Him.