Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁸ The voice of my beloved! Behold, he cometh Leaping upon the mountains, Skipping upon the hills.

⁹ My beloved is like a gazelle or a young hart. Behold, he standeth behind our wall, He looketh in through the windows, Glancing through the lattice.

¹⁰ My beloved spake and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

¹¹ For behold, the winter is past, The rain is over, it is gone:

¹² The flowers appear on the earth; The time of singing is come, And the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land;

¹³ The fig-tree melloweth her winter figs, And the vines in bloom give forth [their] fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away!

³⁰ And it came to pass when Isaac had ended blessing Jacob, and when Jacob was only just gone out from Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came from his hunting.

³¹ And he also had prepared savoury dishes, and he brought [them] in to his father, and said to his father, Let my father arise and eat of his son's venison, in order that thy soul may bless me.

³² And Isaac his father said to him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn, Esau.

³³ Then Isaac trembled with exceeding great trembling, and said, Who was he, then, that hunted venison and brought [it] to me? And I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him; also blessed he shall be.

³⁴ When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said to his father, Bless me—me also, my father!

³⁵ And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and has taken away thy blessing.

³⁶ And he said, Is it not therefore he was named Jacob, for he has supplanted me now twice? He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?

³⁷ And Isaac answered and said to Esau, Behold, I have made him lord over thee, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants, and with corn and new wine have I supplied him—and what can I do now for thee, my son?

³⁸ And Esau said to his father, Hast thou then but one blessing, my father? bless me—me also, my father! And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

³⁹ And Isaac his father answered and said to him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above;

⁴⁰ And by thy sword shalt thou live; And thou shalt serve thy brother; And it shall come to pass when thou rovest about, That thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.

⁴¹ And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him. And Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand, and I will slay my brother Jacob.

⁴² And the words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebecca. And she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, comforts himself that he will kill thee.

⁴³ And now, my son, hearken to my voice, and arise, flee to Laban my brother, to Haran;

⁴⁴ and abide with him some days, until thy brother's fury turn away—

⁴⁵ until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget what thou hast done to him; then I will send and fetch thee thence. Why should I be bereaved even of you both in one day?

⁴⁶ And Rebecca said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these, of the daughters of the land, what good should my life do me?

¹⁸ For there is revealed wrath of God from heaven upon all impiety, and unrighteousness of men holding the truth in unrighteousness.

¹⁹ Because what is known of God is manifest among them, for God has manifested [it] to them,

²⁰ —for from [the] world's creation the invisible things of him are perceived, being apprehended by the mind through the things that are made, both his eternal power and divinity,—so as to render them inexcusable.

²¹ Because, knowing God, they glorified [him] not as God, neither were thankful; but fell into folly in their thoughts, and their heart without understanding was darkened:

²² professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

²³ and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into [the] likeness of an image of corruptible man and of birds and quadrupeds and reptiles.

²⁴ Wherefore God gave them up [also] in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness, to dishonour their bodies between themselves:

²⁵ who changed the truth of God into falsehood, and honoured and served the creature more than him who had created [it], who is blessed for ever. Amen.