Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God’s Love for Israel
105 Give thanks to the Lord and pray to him.
Tell the nations what he has done.
2 Sing to him; sing praises to him.
Tell about all his miracles.
3 Be glad that you are his;
let those who seek the Lord be happy.
4 Depend on the Lord and his strength;
always go to him for help.
5 Remember the miracles he has done;
remember his wonders and his decisions.
6 You are descendants of his servant Abraham,
the children of Jacob, his chosen people.
7 He is the Lord our God.
His laws are for all the world.
8 He will keep his agreement forever;
he will keep his promises always.
9 He will keep the agreement he made with Abraham
and the promise he made to Isaac.
10 He made it a law for the people of Jacob;
he made it an agreement with Israel to last forever.
11 The Lord said, “I will give you the land of Canaan,
and it will belong to you.”
45 This was so they would keep his orders
and obey his teachings.
Praise the Lord!
Jacob’s Family Grows
31 When the Lord saw that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, he made it possible for Leah to have children, but not Rachel. 32 Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben,[a] because she said, “The Lord has seen my troubles. Surely now my husband will love me.”
33 Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Simeon[b] and said, “The Lord has heard that I am not loved, so he has given me this son.”
34 Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Levi[c] and said, “Now, surely my husband will be close to me, because I have given him three sons.”
35 Then Leah gave birth to another son. She named him Judah,[d] because she said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” Then Leah stopped having children.
30 When Rachel saw that she was not having children for Jacob, she envied her sister Leah. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!” 2 Jacob became angry with her and said, “Can I do what only God can do? He is the one who has kept you from having children.”
3 Then Rachel said, “Here is my slave girl Bilhah. Have sexual relations with her so she can give birth to a child for me. Then I can have my own family through her.”
4 So Rachel gave Bilhah, her slave girl, to Jacob as a wife, and he had sexual relations with her. 5 She became pregnant and gave Jacob a son. 6 Rachel said, “God has judged me innocent. He has listened to my prayer and has given me a son,” so she named him Dan.[e]
7 Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son. 8 Rachel said, “I have struggled hard with my sister, and I have won.” So she named that son Naphtali.[f]
9 Leah saw that she had stopped having children, so she gave her slave girl Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 10 When Zilpah had a son, 11 Leah said, “I am lucky,” so she named him Gad.[g] 12 Zilpah gave birth to another son, 13 and Leah said, “I am very happy! Now women will call me happy,” so she named him Asher.[h]
14 During the wheat harvest Reuben went into the field and found some mandrake[i] plants and brought them to his mother Leah. But Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
15 Leah answered, “You have already taken away my husband, and now you are trying to take away my son’s mandrakes.”
But Rachel answered, “If you will give me your son’s mandrakes, you may sleep with Jacob tonight.”
16 When Jacob came in from the field that night, Leah went out to meet him. She said, “You will have sexual relations with me tonight because I have paid for you with my son’s mandrakes.” So Jacob slept with her that night.
17 Then God answered Leah’s prayer, and she became pregnant again. She gave birth to a fifth son 18 and said, “God has given me what I paid for, because I gave my slave girl to my husband.” So Leah named her son Issachar.[j]
19 Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son. 20 She said, “God has given me a fine gift. Now surely Jacob will honor me, because I have given him six sons,” so she named him Zebulun.[k] 21 Later Leah gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
22 Then God remembered Rachel and answered her prayer, making it possible for her to have children. 23 When she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, she said, “God has taken away my shame,” 24 and she named him Joseph.[l] Rachel said, “I wish the Lord would give me another son.”
The People Ask for a Miracle
38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law answered Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we want to see you work a miracle as a sign.”
39 Jesus answered, “Evil and sinful people are the ones who want to see a miracle for a sign. But no sign will be given to them, except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 Jonah was in the stomach of the big fish for three days and three nights. In the same way, the Son of Man will be in the grave three days and three nights. 41 On the Judgment Day the people from Nineveh[a] will stand up with you people who live now, and they will show that you are guilty. When Jonah preached to them, they were sorry and changed their lives. And I tell you that someone greater than Jonah is here. 42 On the Judgment Day, the Queen of the South[b] will stand up with you people who live today. She will show that you are guilty, because she came from far away to listen to Solomon’s wise teaching. And I tell you that someone greater than Solomon is here.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.