Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

²⁸ The young woman ran home. She told her mother’s family what had happened. ²⁹ Rebekah had a brother named Laban. He hurried out to the spring to meet the man. ³⁰ Laban had seen the nose ring. He had seen the bracelets on his sister’s arms. And he had heard Rebekah tell what the man had said to her. So Laban went out to the man. He found him standing by the camels near the spring. ³¹ “The Lord has given you his blessing,” he said. “So come with me. Why are you standing out here? I’ve prepared my house for you. I also have a place for the camels.”

³² So the man went to the house. The camels were unloaded. Straw and feed were brought for the camels. And water was brought for him and his men to wash their feet. ³³ Then food was placed in front of him. But he said, “I won’t eat until I’ve told you what I have to say.”

“Then tell us,” Laban said.

³⁴ So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. ³⁵ The Lord has blessed my master greatly, and he has become rich. The Lord has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold. He has also given him male and female servants, camels and donkeys. ³⁶ My master’s wife Sarah had a son by him when she was old. He has given that son everything he owns. ³⁷ My master made me promise him. He said, ‘I’m living in the land of the people of Canaan. But promise me that you won’t get a wife for my son from their daughters. ³⁸ Instead, go to my father’s family and to my own relatives. Get a wife for my son there.’

³⁹ “Then I asked my master, ‘What if the woman won’t come back with me?’

⁴⁰ “He replied, ‘I have walked faithfully with the Lord. He will send his angel with you. He will give you success on your journey. So you will be able to get a wife for my son. She will be from my own relatives and from my father’s family. ⁴¹ When you go to my relatives, suppose they refuse to give her to you. Then you will be free from the promise you made to me.’

⁴² “Today I came to the spring. I said, ‘Lord, you are the God of my master Abraham. Please make me successful on this journey I’ve made.

¹⁶ Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. On the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue as he usually did. He stood up to read. ¹⁷ And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. Jesus unrolled it and found the right place. There it is written,

²⁰ Then Jesus rolled up the scroll. He gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were staring at him. ²¹ He began by saying to them, “Today this passage of Scripture is coming true as you listen.”

²² Everyone said good things about him. They were amazed at the gracious words they heard from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

²³ Jesus said, “Here is a saying you will certainly apply to me. ‘Doctor, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me this. ‘Do the things here in your hometown that we heard you did in Capernaum.’ ”

²⁴ “What I’m about to tell you is true,” he continued. “A prophet is not accepted in his hometown. ²⁵ I tell you for sure that there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah. And there had been no rain for three and a half years. There wasn’t enough food to eat anywhere in the land. ²⁶ But Elijah was not sent to any of those widows. Instead, he was sent to a widow in Zarephath near Sidon. ²⁷ And there were many in Israel who had skin diseases in the days of Elisha the prophet. But not one of them was healed except Naaman the Syrian.”

²⁸ All the people in the synagogue were very angry when they heard that. ²⁹ They got up and ran Jesus out of town. They took him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They planned to throw him off the cliff. ³⁰ But Jesus walked right through the crowd and went on his way.