Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

(A prayer by David.)

The Prayer of an Innocent Person

³ Jacob sent messengers on ahead to Esau, who lived in the land of Seir, also known as Edom. ⁴ Jacob told them to say to Esau, “Master, I am your servant! I have lived with Laban all this time, ⁵ and now I own cattle, donkeys, and sheep, as well as many slaves. Master, I am sending these messengers in the hope that you will be kind to me.”

⁶ When the messengers returned, they told Jacob, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is heading this way with 400 men.”

⁷ Jacob was so frightened that he divided his people, sheep, cattle, and camels into two groups. ⁸ He thought, “If Esau attacks one group, perhaps the other can escape.”

⁹ Then Jacob prayed:

You, Lord, are the God who was worshiped by my grandfather Abraham and by my father Isaac. You told me to return home to my family, and you promised to be with me and make me successful. ¹⁰ I don't deserve all the good things you have done for me, your servant. When I first crossed the Jordan, I had only my walking stick, but now I have two large groups of people and animals. ¹¹ Please rescue me from my brother. I am afraid he will come and attack not only me, but my wives and children as well. ^12 (A) But you have promised that I would be a success and that someday it will be as hard to count my descendants as it is to count the grains of sand along the seashore.

¹³ After Jacob had spent the night there, he chose some animals as gifts for Esau: ^14-15 200 female goats and 20 males, 200 female sheep and 20 males, 30 female camels with their young, 40 cows and 10 bulls, and 20 female donkeys and 10 males.

¹⁶ Jacob put servants in charge of each herd and told them, “Go ahead of me and keep a space between each herd.” ¹⁷ Then he said to the servant in charge of the first herd, “When Esau meets you, he will ask whose servant you are. He will want to know where you are going and who owns those animals in front of you. ¹⁸ So tell him, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob, who is coming this way. He is sending them as a gift to his master Esau.’ ”

¹⁹ Jacob also told the men in charge of the second and third herds and those who followed to say the same thing when they met Esau. ²⁰ And Jacob told them to be sure to say that he was right behind them. Jacob hoped the gifts would make Esau friendly, so Esau would be glad to see him when they met. ²¹ Jacob's men took the gifts on ahead of him, but he spent the night in camp.

³⁷ When the people heard this, they were very upset. They asked Peter and the other apostles, “Friends, what should we do?”

³⁸ Peter said to them, “Turn to God and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ This promise is for you and your children. It is for everyone our Lord God will choose, no matter where they live.”

⁴⁰ Peter told them many other things as well. Then he said, “I beg you to save yourselves from what will happen to all these evil people.” ⁴¹ On that day about 3,000 believed his message and were baptized. ⁴² They spent their time learning from the apostles, and they were like family to each other. They also broke bread^[a] and prayed together.

Life among the Lord's Followers

⁴³ Everyone was amazed by the many miracles and wonders that the apostles worked. ^44 (A) All the Lord's followers often met together, and they shared everything they had. ⁴⁵ They would sell their property and possessions and give the money to whoever was in need. ⁴⁶ Day after day they met together in the temple. They broke bread^[b] together in different homes and shared their food happily and freely, ⁴⁷ while praising God. Everyone liked them, and each day the Lord added to their group others who were being saved.