Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Thanksgiving for Escaping Death

¹⁰ The servant took ten of Abraham’s camels and left, carrying with him many different kinds of beautiful gifts. He went to Northwest Mesopotamia to Nahor’s city. ¹¹ In the evening, when the women come out to get water, he made the camels kneel down at the well outside the city.

¹² The servant said, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, allow me to find a wife for his son today. Please show this kindness to my master Abraham. ¹³ Here I am, standing by the spring, and the girls from the city are coming out to get water. ¹⁴ I will say to one of them, ‘Please put your jar down so I can drink.’ Then let her say, ‘Drink, and I will also give water to your camels.’ If that happens, I will know she is the right one for your servant Isaac and that you have shown kindness to my master.”

¹⁵ Before the servant had finished praying, Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, came out of the city. (Bethuel was the son of Milcah and Nahor, Abraham’s brother.) Rebekah was carrying her water jar on her shoulder. ¹⁶ She was very pretty, a virgin; she had never had sexual relations with a man. She went down to the spring and filled her jar, then came back up. ¹⁷ The servant ran to her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.”

¹⁸ Rebekah said, “Drink, sir.” She quickly lowered the jar from her shoulder and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ After he finished drinking, Rebekah said, “I will also pour some water for your camels.” ²⁰ So she quickly poured all the water from her jar into the drinking trough for the camels. Then she kept running to the well until she had given all the camels enough to drink.

²¹ The servant quietly watched her. He wanted to be sure the Lord had made his trip successful. ²² After the camels had finished drinking, he gave Rebekah a gold ring weighing one-fifth of an ounce and two gold arm bracelets weighing about four ounces each. ²³ He asked, “Who is your father? Is there a place in his house for me and my men to spend the night?”

²⁴ Rebekah answered, “My father is Bethuel, the son of Milcah and Nahor.” ²⁵ Then she said, “And, yes, we have straw for your camels and a place for you to spend the night.”

²⁶ The servant bowed and worshiped the Lord ²⁷ and said, “Blessed is the Lord, the God of my master Abraham. The Lord has been kind and truthful to him and has led me to my master’s relatives.”

²⁸ Then Rebekah ran and told her mother’s family about all these things. ²⁹ She had a brother named Laban, who ran out to Abraham’s servant, who was still at the spring. ³⁰ Laban had heard what she had said and had seen the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms. So he ran out to the well, and there was the man standing by the camels at the spring. ³¹ Laban said, “Sir, you are welcome to come in; you don’t have to stand outside. I have prepared the house for you and also a place for your camels.”

³² So Abraham’s servant went into the house. After Laban unloaded the camels and gave them straw and food, he gave water to Abraham’s servant so he and the men with him could wash their feet. ³³ Then Laban gave the servant food, but the servant said, “I will not eat until I have told you why I came.”

So Laban said, “Then tell us.”

³⁴ He said, “I am Abraham’s servant. ³⁵ The Lord has greatly blessed my master in everything, and he has become a rich man. The Lord has given him many flocks of sheep, herds of cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, camels, and horses. ³⁶ Sarah, my master’s wife, gave birth to a son when she was old, and my master has given everything he owns to that son. ³⁷ My master had me make a promise to him and said, ‘Don’t get a wife for my son from the Canaanite girls who live around here. ³⁸ Instead, you must go to my father’s people and to my family. There you must get a wife for my son.’ ³⁹ I said to my master, ‘What if the woman will not come back with me?’ ⁴⁰ But he said, ‘I serve the Lord, who will send his angel with you and will help you. You will get a wife for my son from my family and my father’s people. ⁴¹ Then you will be free from the promise. But if they will not give you a wife for my son, you will be free from this promise.’

⁴² “Today I came to this spring. I said, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, please make my trip successful. ⁴³ I am standing by this spring. I will wait for a young woman to come out to get water, and I will say, “Please give me water from your jar to drink.” ⁴⁴ Then let her say, “Drink this water, and I will also get water for your camels.” By this I will know the Lord has chosen her for my master’s son.’

⁴⁵ “Before I finished my silent prayer, Rebekah came out of the city with her water jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and got water. I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ ⁴⁶ She quickly lowered the jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink this. I will also get water for your camels.’ So I drank, and she gave water to my camels too. ⁴⁷ When I asked her, ‘Who is your father?’ she answered, ‘My father is Bethuel son of Milcah and Nahor.’ Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, ⁴⁸ and I bowed my head and thanked the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, because he led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. ⁴⁹ Now, tell me, will you be kind and truthful to my master? And if not, tell me so. Then I will know what I should do.”

⁵⁰ Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is clearly from the Lord, and we cannot change what must happen. ⁵¹ Rebekah is yours. Take her and go. Let her marry your master’s son as the Lord has commanded.”

⁵² When Abraham’s servant heard these words, he bowed facedown on the ground before the Lord.

Obey God’s Law

7 When some Pharisees and some teachers of the law came from Jerusalem, they gathered around Jesus. ² They saw that some of Jesus’ followers ate food with hands that were not clean, that is, they hadn’t washed them. ³ (The Pharisees and all the Jews never eat before washing their hands in the way required by their unwritten laws. ⁴ And when they buy something in the market, they never eat it until they wash themselves in a special way. They also follow many other unwritten laws, such as the washing of cups, pitchers, and pots.^[a])

⁵ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law said to Jesus, “Why don’t your followers obey the unwritten laws which have been handed down to us? Why do your followers eat their food with hands that are not clean?”

⁶ Jesus answered, “Isaiah was right when he spoke about you hypocrites. He wrote,

⁸ You have stopped following the commands of God, and you follow only human teachings.”^[b]

⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “You cleverly ignore the commands of God so you can follow your own teachings. ¹⁰ Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’^[c] and ‘Anyone who says cruel things to his father or mother must be put to death.’^{[d] 11} But you say a person can tell his father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you, but it is Corban—a gift to God.’ ¹² You no longer let that person use that money for his father or his mother. ¹³ By your own rules, which you teach people, you are rejecting what God said. And you do many things like that.”