Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer for Victory over Enemies.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
20 May the Lord answer you (A)in the day of trouble!
May the (B)name of the (C)God of Jacob set you securely on high!
2 May He send you help (D)from the sanctuary
And (E)support you from Zion!
3 May He (F)remember all your meal offerings
And (G)find your burnt offering [a]acceptable! [b]Selah.
4 May He grant you your (H)heart’s desire
And (I)fulfill all your [c]counsel!
5 [d]We will (J)sing for joy over your [e]victory,
And in the name of our God we will (K)set up our banners.
May the Lord (L)fulfill all your petitions.
6 Now (M)I know that the Lord saves His anointed;
He will (N)answer him from His holy heaven
With the [f](O)saving strength of His right hand.
7 Some [g]boast in chariots and some in (P)horses,
But (Q)we [h]will boast in the name of the Lord, our God.
8 They have (R)bowed down and fallen,
But we have (S)risen and stood upright.
9 [i](T)Save, O Lord;
May the (U)King answer us in the day we call.
Abram Journeys to Egypt
12 Now (A)the Lord said to Abram,
“[a]Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;
2 And (B)I will make you a great nation,
And (C)I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so [b](D)you shall be a blessing;
3 And (E)I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who [c]curses you I will [d]curse.
(F)And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
4 So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him; and (G)Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their (H)possessions which they had accumulated, and (I)the [e]persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they [f]set out for the land of Canaan; (J)thus they came to the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land as far as the site of (K)Shechem, to the [g]oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land. 7 The Lord (L)appeared to Abram and said, “(M)To your [h]descendants I will give this land.” So he built (N)an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.
The Triumphs of Faith
11 Now faith is the [a](A)assurance of things [b](B)hoped for, the [c]conviction of (C)things not seen. 2 For by it the (D)men of old [d](E)gained approval.
3 By faith we understand that the [e](F)worlds were prepared (G)by the word of God, so that what is seen (H)was not made out of things which are visible. 4 By faith (I)Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he (J)obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying [f]about his (K)gifts, and through [g]faith, though (L)he is dead, he still speaks. 5 By faith (M)Enoch was taken up so that he would not (N)see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who (O)comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. 7 By faith (P)Noah, being (Q)warned by God about (R)things not yet seen, [h](S)in reverence (T)prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of (U)the righteousness which is according to faith.
8 By faith (V)Abraham, when he was called, obeyed [i]by going out to a place which he was to (W)receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he lived as an alien in (X)the land of promise, as in a foreign land, (Y)dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, (Z)fellow heirs of the same promise; 10 for he was looking for (AA)the city which has (AB)foundations, (AC)whose architect and builder is God. 11 By faith even (AD)Sarah herself received [j]ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him (AE)faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore there was born even of one man, and (AF)him as good as dead [k]at that, as many descendants (AG)as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.