Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
34 “I am Abraham’s servant,” he began. 35 “The Lord has blessed my master so abundantly that he has become wealthy; he has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, and camels and donkeys. 36 My master’s wife Sarah bore a son to my master in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns. 37 My master put me under oath, saying: ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I live; 38 instead, you must go to my father’s house, to my own family, to get a wife for my son.’
42 “When I came to the spring today, I said: ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, please make successful the journey I am on. 43 While I stand here at the spring, if I say to a young woman who comes out to draw water, ‘Please give me a little water from your jug,’ 44 and she answers, ‘Drink, and I will draw water for your camels, too—then she is the woman whom the Lord has decided upon for my master’s son.’
45 “I had scarcely finished saying this to myself when Rebekah came out with a jug on her shoulder. After she went down to the spring and drew water, I said to her, ‘Please let me have a drink.’ 46 She quickly lowered the jug she was carrying and said, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels, too.’ So I drank, and she watered the camels also. 47 When I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ she answered, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, son of Nahor, borne to Nahor by Milcah.’ So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 48 Then I knelt and bowed down to the Lord, blessing the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to obtain the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son. 49 Now, if you will act with kindness and fidelity toward my master, let me know; but if not, let me know that too. I can then proceed accordingly.”
58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?” She answered, “I will.”[a] 59 At this they sent off their sister Rebekah and her nurse with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 They blessed Rebekah and said:
“Sister, may you grow
into thousands of myriads;
And may your descendants gain possession
of the gates of their enemies!”(A)
61 Then Rebekah and her attendants started out; they mounted the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and went on his way.
62 Meanwhile Isaac had gone from Beer-lahai-roi and was living in the region of the Negeb.(B) 63 One day toward evening he went out to walk in the field, and caught sight of camels approaching. 64 Rebekah, too, caught sight of Isaac, and got down from her camel. 65 She asked the servant, “Who is the man over there, walking through the fields toward us?” “That is my master,” replied the servant. Then she took her veil and covered herself.
66 The servant recounted to Isaac all the things he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah into the tent of his mother Sarah. He took Rebekah as his wife. Isaac loved her and found solace after the death of his mother.
10 Daughters of kings are your lovely wives;
a princess arrayed in Ophir’s gold[a]
comes to stand at your right hand.
III
11 Listen, my daughter, and understand;
pay me careful heed.
Forget your people and your father’s house,[b]
12 that the king might desire your beauty.
He is your lord;
13 (A)honor him, daughter of Tyre.
Then the richest of the people
will seek your favor with gifts.
14 All glorious is the king’s daughter as she enters,(B)
her raiment threaded with gold;
15 In embroidered apparel she is led to the king.
The maids of her train are presented to the king.
16 They are led in with glad and joyous acclaim;
they enter the palace of the king.
IV
17 The throne of your fathers your sons will have;
you shall make them princes through all the land.(C)
Her Lover’s Visit Remembered
8 W The sound of my lover! here he comes[a]
springing across the mountains,
leaping across the hills.
9 My lover is like a gazelle[b]
or a young stag.
See! He is standing behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattices.
10 My lover speaks and says to me,
M “Arise, my friend, my beautiful one,
and come!
11 For see, the winter is past,
the rains are over and gone.
12 The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of pruning the vines has come,
and the song of the turtledove is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance.
Arise, my friend, my beautiful one,
and come!
15 What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I concur that the law is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. The willing is ready at hand, but doing the good is not.(A) 19 For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want. 20 Now if [I] do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 21 So, then, I discover the principle that when I want to do right, evil is at hand. 22 For I take delight in the law of God, in my inner self, 23 (B)but I see in my members another principle at war with the law of my mind, taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.[a] 24 Miserable one that I am! Who will deliver me from this mortal body? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore, I myself, with my mind, serve the law of God but, with my flesh, the law of sin.(C)
16 (A)“To what shall I compare this generation?[a] It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, 17 ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’(B) 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”(C)
The Praise of the Father. 25 (A)At that time Jesus said in reply,[a] “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. 26 Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.(B)
The Gentle Mastery of Christ. 28 [b]“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,[c] and I will give you rest. 29 [d](C)Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
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.