Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹¹ Teach me Your way, O LORD, and I will walk in Your truth. Knit my heart to You, so that I may fear Your Name.

¹² I will praise You, O LORD my God, with all my heart. Indeed, I will glorify Your Name forever.

¹³ For great is Your mercy toward me; and You have delivered my soul from the lowest grave.

¹⁴ O God, the proud have risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought my soul and have not set You before them.

¹⁵ But You, O LORD, are a pitying God, and merciful, slow to anger and great in kindness and truth.

¹⁶ Turn to me and have mercy upon me. Give Your strength to Your servant and save the son of Your handmaid.

¹⁷ Show a sign of goodness toward me, so that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed; because You, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me. A Psalm, or song, committed to the sons of Korah

16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. And she had a maid—an Egyptian—Hagar by name.

² And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the LORD has restrained me from childbearing. I urge you to go in to my maid. It may be that I shall receive a child by her.” And Abram obeyed the voice of Sarai.

³ Then Sarai, Abram’s wife (after Abram had dwelled ten years in the land of Canaan) took Hagar, her maid (the Egyptian) and gave her to her husband, Abram, for his wife.

⁴ And he went in to Hagar; and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she despised her mistress in her eyes.

⁵ Then Sarai said to Abram, “You do me wrong. I have given my maid into your bosom; and she sees that she has conceived, and I am despised in her eyes. The LORD judge between you and me.”

⁶ Then Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your maid is in your hand. Do with her as it pleases you.” Then Sarai dealt roughly with her. Therefore, she fled from her.

⁷ But the Angel of the LORD found her beside a fountain, on the way to Shur.

⁸ And he said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, from where have you come? And where are you going?” And she said, “I have fled from my mistress, Sarai.”

⁹ Then, the Angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and humble yourself under her hands.”

¹⁰ Again, the Angel of the LORD said to her, “I will so greatly increase your seed that it shall not be numbered for multitude.”

¹¹ Also, the Angel of the LORD said to her, “See, you are with child and shall bear a son, and shall call his name, ‘Ishmael’. For the LORD has heard your tribulation.

¹² “And he shall be a wild man. His hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brothers.”

¹³ Then, she called the Name of the LORD Who spoke to her, “You, God, look upon me!” For she said, “Have I not also looked at the back of Him Who sees me?”

¹⁴ Therefore, the well was called, “Beer Lahai Roi”, between Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵ And Hagar bore Abram a son. And Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore, “Ishmael”.

2 “To the angel of the Church of Ephesus, write these things:” says He Who holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.

² “I know your works, and your labor, and your patience. And how you cannot bear with those who are evil; and have examined those who say they are Apostles and are not and have found them liars.

³ “And you were burdened and had patience; and for my Name’s sake have labored and have not fainted.

⁴ “Nevertheless, I have somewhat against you, because you have left your first love.

⁵ “Remember therefore from where you have fallen. And repent and do the works you did at first. Or else I will come against you shortly and will remove your candlestick out of its place unless you repent.

⁶ “But this you have: that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

⁷ “Let him who has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the Churches, ‘To him who overcomes will I give to eat of the Tree of Life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.’