Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Thanksgiving for Escaping Death
116 I love the Lord,
because he ·listens to my prayers for help [L hears/or heard my voice, my prayer of supplication].
2 He ·paid attention [L extends his ear] to me,
so I will ·call to him for help [call; pray] ·as long as I live [L in my days].
12 What can I ·give [L return to] the Lord
for all the ·good things [benefits] he has given to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation,
and I will pray ·to [L in the name of] the Lord.
14 I will ·give the Lord what I promised [pay my vow to the Lord]
in front of all his people.
15 The death of ·one that belongs to the Lord [his loyal ones/saints]
is precious in his ·sight [L eyes].
16 Lord, I am your servant;
I am your servant and the son of your female servant.
You have ·freed me from [loosened] my chains.
17 I will give you ·an offering to show thanks to you [a thanksgiving offering],
and I will pray ·to [L in the name of] the Lord.
18 I will ·give the Lord what I promised [pay my vow to the Lord]
in front of all his people,
19 in the ·Temple courtyards [L courtyards of the house of the Lord]
in your midst, Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
10 The servant took ten of Abraham’s camels and left, carrying with him many ·different kinds of beautiful gifts [L goods of his master]. He went to ·northwestern Mesopotamia [L Aram-Naharaim; C a region near the Habor and Euphrates rivers, about a month’s journey away] to ·Nahor’s city [or the city of Nahor]. 11 In the evening, when the women come out to get water [C most ancient towns had a single source of water for the community], he made the camels kneel down at the well outside the city.
12 The servant said, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, ·allow me to find a wife for his son [L grant me good fortune] today. Please show this ·kindness [loyalty] to my master Abraham. 13 Here I am, standing by the spring, and the ·girls [L daughters of the men] from the city are coming out to get water. 14 ·I will say to one of them [L Let the girl to whom I will say…], ‘Please put your jar down so I can drink.’ Then let her say, ‘Drink, and I will also give water to your camels.’ If that happens, I will know she is the ·right one [the one appointed/selected] for your servant Isaac and that you have shown ·kindness [loyalty] to my master.”
15 Before the servant had finished ·praying [L speaking], Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, came out of the city. (Bethuel was the son of Milcah and Nahor, Abraham’s brother [11:27–30].) Rebekah was carrying her water jar on her shoulder. 16 She was ·very pretty [extremely beautiful], a virgin; she had never ·had sexual relations with [L known] a man. She went down to the spring and filled her jar, then came back up. 17 The servant ran to her and said, “Please give me a little ·water [sip] from your jar.”
18 Rebekah said, “Drink, ·sir [my master].” She quickly lowered the jar ·from her shoulder [L on her hand] and gave him a drink. 19 After ·he finished drinking [L she let him drink all he wanted], Rebekah said, “I will also pour some water for your camels [L until they have finished drinking].” 20 So she quickly ·poured [emptied] all the water from her jar into the drinking trough for the camels. Then she kept running to the well until she had given all the camels enough to drink.
21 The ·servant [L man] quietly ·watched [stared at] her. He wanted to ·be sure [L learn whether or not] the Lord had made his trip successful. 22 After the camels had finished drinking, he gave Rebekah a gold ·ring [L nose-ring; or earring] weighing ·one-fifth of an ounce [L one half shekel] and two gold arm bracelets weighing about ·four ounces [L ten shekels] each. 23 He asked, “·Who is your father [L Tell me whose daughter you are]? Is there a place in his house for me and my men to spend the night?”
24 Rebekah answered, “·My father is [L The daughter of] Bethuel, the son of Milcah and Nahor.” 25 Then she said, “And, yes, we have ·straw for your camels [L plenty of straw and feed] and a place for you to spend the night.”
26 The servant bowed and worshiped the Lord 27 and said, “Blessed is the Lord, the God of my master Abraham. The Lord ·has been kind and truthful to him [L has not abandoned his kindness/loyalty and truthfulness/faithfulness to my master] and has led me to my master’s relatives.”
28 Then Rebekah ran and told her mother’s family about all these things. 29 She had a brother named Laban, who ran out to Abraham’s servant, who was still at the spring. 30 Laban had heard what she had said and had seen the ·ring [L nose-ring; or earring] and the bracelets on his sister’s arms. So he ran out to the well, and there was the man standing by the camels at the spring. 31 Laban said, “·Sir [L O blessed one], ·you are welcome to come in [L come]; ·you don’t have to stand [L why are standing…?] outside. I have ·prepared [L cleared out] the house for you and also a place for your camels.”
32 So Abraham’s servant went into the house. After Laban unloaded the camels and gave them straw and ·food [fodder], he gave water to Abraham’s servant so he and the men with him could wash their feet. 33 Then ·Laban gave the servant food [L the food was set before him], but the servant said, “I will not eat until I have told you why I came.”
So Laban said, “Then tell us.”
34 He said, “I am Abraham’s servant. 35 The Lord has greatly blessed my master in everything [12:3], and he has become a rich man. The Lord has given him many flocks of sheep, herds of cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, camels, and horses. 36 Sarah, my master’s wife, gave birth to a son when she was old [21:1–7], and my master has given everything he owns to that son. 37 My master had me ·make a promise to him [swear] and said, ‘Don’t get a wife for my son from the Canaanite ·girls [L daughters] ·who live around here [L in whose land I live]. 38 Instead, you must go to my father’s ·people [house] and to my family. There you must ·get [take] a wife for my son.’ 39 I said to my master, ‘What if the woman will not come back with me?’ 40 But he said, ‘I ·serve [L walk before] the Lord, who will send his ·angel [or messenger] with you and will ·help you [L make your way successful]. You will ·get [take] a wife for my son from my family and my father’s ·people [L house]. 41 Then you will be ·free [innocent] from ·the promise [L my oath]. But if they will not give you a wife for my son, you will be ·free [innocent] from ·this promise [L my oath].’
42 “Today I came to this spring. I said, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, please make my ·trip [way] successful. 43 I am standing by this spring. I will wait for a young woman to come out to ·get [draw] water, and I will say, “Please give me water from your jar to drink.” 44 Then let her say, “Drink this water, and I will also draw water for your camels.” By this I will know the Lord has chosen her for my master’s son.’
45 “Before I finished ·my silent prayer [L speaking in my heart/mind], Rebekah came out of the city with her water jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water. I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 46 She quickly lowered the jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink this. I will also water your camels.’ So I drank, and she watered my camels too. 47 When I asked her, ‘·Who is your father [L Whose daughter are you]?’ she answered, ‘·My father is [L The daughter of] Bethuel son of Milcah and Nahor.’ Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, 48 and I bowed my head and ·thanked [worshipped] the Lord. I ·praised [blessed] the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, because he ·led [guided] me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. 49 Now, tell me, will you be ·kind [loyal] and ·truthful [faithful] to my master? And if not, tell me so. Then I will ·know what I should do [L turn to the right hand or to the left].”
50 Laban and Bethuel answered, “This ·is clearly [L has come out] from the Lord, and we cannot ·change what must happen [L speak to you good or evil]. 51 Rebekah is ·yours [L before you]. Take her and go. Let her marry your master’s son as the Lord has ·commanded [spoken].”
52 When Abraham’s servant heard these words, he bowed facedown on the ground before the Lord.
The Things that Truly Please God(A)
7 When some Pharisees and some ·teachers of the law [scribes] came from Jerusalem, they gathered around Jesus. 2 They saw that some of Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] ate food with hands that were not clean, that is, they hadn’t [ceremonially] washed them. 3 ([For] The Pharisees and all the Jews never eat before washing their hands ·in the way required [L with a fist; C the meaning of the idiom is uncertain; it could mean “with a handful of water,” “with cupped hand,” “up to the wrist” or something else] by ·their unwritten laws [L the traditions of the elders]. 4 ·And when they buy something in the market, they never eat it [or, And when they come from the market (where they might have touched something “unclean”), they do not eat] until they wash themselves in a special way. They also ·follow [hold fast to; observe] many other ·unwritten laws [traditions], such as the washing of cups, pitchers, and pots.[a])
5 The Pharisees and the ·teachers of the law [scribes] asked Jesus, “Why don’t your ·followers [disciples] ·obey [walk according to] the ·unwritten laws which have been handed down to us [traditions of the elders]? Why do they eat their food with hands that are ·not clean [defiled]?”
6 Jesus answered, “Isaiah was right when he ·spoke [prophesied] about you hypocrites. ·He wrote [As it is written],
‘These people show honor to me with ·words [L their lips],
but their hearts are far from me.
7 Their worship of me is ·worthless [futile; in vain].
The things they teach are nothing but human ·rules [commandments; Is. 29:13].’
8 You ·have stopped following [neglected; abandoned] the commands of God, and you ·follow [hold on to] only human ·teachings[b] [traditions].”
9 Then Jesus said to them, “You ·cleverly ignore [are very good at ignoring/despising] the commands of God so you can follow your own ·teachings [tradition]. 10 [For] Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ [Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16], and ‘Anyone who ·says cruel things to [speaks evil of; curses] his father or mother must be put to death’ [Ex. 21:17; Lev. 20:9]. 11 But you say a person can tell his father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you, but it is Corban—a gift to God.’ [C Corban is a Hebrew term meaning dedicated or set aside to God.] 12 You no longer let that person ·use that money [do anything] for his father or his mother. 13 By your own ·rules [tradition], which you ·teach people [have handed down], you are ·rejecting [nullifying; canceling] what God said. And you do many things like that.”
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