Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Second Song

The Woman

⁸ “Listen, it is the voice of my loved one! See, he is coming! He is running over the mountains, jumping across the hills. ⁹ My love is like a gazelle or a young deer. See, he is standing behind our wall. He is looking through the windows, through the wood cross-pieces.

¹⁰ “My love speaks and says to me, ‘Get up, my love, my beautiful one, and come with me. ¹¹ For see, the winter is past. The rain is over and gone. ¹² The flowers are coming through the ground. The time for singing has come. The voice of the turtle-dove has been heard in our land. ¹³ The fig tree has its fruits. The flowers on the vines spread their sweet smell. Get up, my love, my beautiful one, and come with me!

³⁰ When Isaac had finished praying that good would come to Jacob, Jacob left his father Isaac. Just then his brother Esau came in from hunting. ³¹ Then Esau made good-tasting food and brought it to his father, and said, “Sit up, my father, and eat the meat your son has made ready, so you will pray that good will come to me.” ³² His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am your son, your first-born, Esau.” ³³ Then Isaac shook all over, and he said, “Who was it then who killed an animal and brought meat to me? I ate all of it before you came! And I prayed that good would come to him! Yes, and good will come to him!”

³⁴ When he heard what his father said, Esau cried out with a loud and sad cry. He said to his father, “Pray that good will come to me also, O my father!” ³⁵ But Isaac said, “Your brother came in and fooled me. He has taken away the good that was to come to you.”

³⁶ Then Esau said, “Was it not right that he was given the name Jacob? Two times now he has taken what should have been mine. He took away my right as a first-born. And now he has taken away the good that was to come to me.” Then he said, “Can you not pray that good will come to me also?”

³⁷ Isaac answered Esau, “See, I have made him to rule over you. I have given him all his brothers as servants. I have given him grain and new wine to keep him alive and well. What then can I do for you, my son?”

³⁸ Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one prayer for good to come, my father? Pray that good will come to me also, O my father.” And Esau gave out a loud cry. ³⁹ Then his father Isaac answered him: “See, the place where you live will be away from the riches of the earth, and away from the water on the grass in the early morning. ⁴⁰ You will live by your sword and you will serve your brother. But when you break loose, you will throw his load off your back.”

Jacob Goes to Laban

⁴¹ Esau hated Jacob because his father had prayed that good would come to Jacob. Esau said to himself, “The days when I will have sorrow for the loss of my father are soon. Then I will kill my brother Jacob.” ⁴² But the words of her older son Esau were told to Rebekah. She called her younger son Jacob, and said to him, “See, your brother Esau comforts himself by planning to kill you. ⁴³ So now, my son, do what I tell you. Get ready, and go at once to my brother Laban at Haran. ⁴⁴ Stay with him for a few days, until your brother’s anger goes away. ⁴⁵ When your brother’s anger against you is gone and he forgets what you did to him, then I will send for you and have you return from there. Why should I have sorrow for both of you in one day?”

⁴⁶ Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am tired of living because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob marries one of the daughters of Heth, like these, from the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

¹⁸ We see the anger of God coming down from heaven against all the sins of men. These sinful men keep the truth from being known. ¹⁹ Men know about God. He has made it plain to them. ²⁰ Men cannot say they do not know about God. From the beginning of the world, men could see what God is like through the things He has made. This shows His power that lasts forever. It shows that He is God. ²¹ They did know God, but they did not honor Him as God. They were not thankful to Him and thought only of foolish things. Their foolish minds became dark. ²² They said that they were wise, but they showed how foolish they were. ²³ They gave honor to false gods that looked like people who can die and to birds and animals and snakes. This honor belongs to God Who can never die.

²⁴ So God let them follow the desires of their sinful hearts. They did sinful things among themselves with their bodies. ²⁵ They traded the truth of God for a lie. They worshiped and cared for what God made instead of worshiping the God Who made it. He is the One Who is to receive honor and thanks forever. Let it be so.