Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A Song of degrees.

¹ ¶ Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye slaves of the LORD, who by night stand in the house of the LORD.

² Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.

³ The LORD that made the heavens and the earth bless thee out of Zion.

18 ¶ And the LORD appeared unto him among the terebinth trees of Mamre; and he was sitting in the door of his tent in the heat of the day;

² and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, three men stood by him; and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door and bowed himself toward the ground

³ and said, My Lord, if now I have found grace in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy slave.

⁴ Let a little water, I pray you, be brought and wash your feet and rest yourselves under a tree;

⁵ and I will bring a morsel of bread and comfort your hearts; after that ye shall pass on because for this ye are come to your slave. And they said, So do as thou hast said.

⁶ And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make bread baked under the ashes.

⁷ And Abraham ran unto the herd and brought a calf tender and good and gave it unto a young man; and he hastened to dress it.

⁸ And he took butter and milk and the calf which he had dressed and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they ate.

⁹ ¶ And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Here, in the tent.

¹⁰ Then he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, behold, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.

¹¹ Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age, and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.

¹² Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?

¹³ Then the LORD said unto Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child when I am old?

¹⁴ Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

²³ being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and abides for ever.

²⁴ ¶ For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away,

²⁵ but the word of the Lord endures for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.