Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

³⁴ So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. ³⁵ The Lord ^(A)has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. ³⁶ And Sarah my master’s wife ^(B)bore a son to my master when she was old; and ^(C)to him he has given all that he has. ³⁷ Now my master ^(D)made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell; ^38 (E)but you shall go to my father’s house and to my family, and take a wife for my son.’

⁴² “And this day I came to the well and said, ^(A)‘O Lord God of my master Abraham, if You will now prosper the way in which I go, ^43 (B)behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes out to draw water, and I say to her, “Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink,” ⁴⁴ and she says to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also,”—let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’

^45 (C)“But before I had finished ^(D)speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah, coming out with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down to the well and drew water. And I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ ⁴⁶ And she made haste and let her pitcher down from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels a drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels a drink also. ⁴⁷ Then I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the nose ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. ^48 (E)And I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the way of truth to ^(F)take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. ⁴⁹ Now if you will ^(G)deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. And if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”

⁵⁸ Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?”

And she said, “I will go.”

⁵⁹ So they sent away Rebekah their sister ^(A)and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men. ⁶⁰ And they blessed Rebekah and said to her:

⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her maids arose, and they rode on the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed.

⁶² Now Isaac came from the way of ^(D)Beer Lahai Roi, for he dwelt in the South. ⁶³ And Isaac went out ^(E)to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming. ⁶⁴ Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac ^(F)she dismounted from her camel; ⁶⁵ for she had said to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?”

The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took a veil and covered herself.

⁶⁶ And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. ⁶⁷ Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he ^(G)took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac ^(H)was comforted after his mother’s death.

The Beloved’s Request

The Shulamite

¹⁵ For what I am doing, I do not understand. ^(A)For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. ¹⁶ If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. ¹⁷ But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. ¹⁸ For I know that ^(B)in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. ¹⁹ For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. ²⁰ Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

²¹ I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. ²² For I ^(C)delight in the law of God according to ^(D)the inward man. ²³ But ^(E)I see another law in ^(F)my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. ²⁴ O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me ^(G)from this body of death? ^25 (H)I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

^16 (A)“But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, ¹⁷ and saying:

¹⁸ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a ^[b]winebibber, ^(B)a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ^(C)But wisdom is justified by her ^[c]children.”

Jesus Gives True Rest^(A)

^25 (B)At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that ^(C)You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent ^(D)and have revealed them to babes. ²⁶ Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. ^27 (E)All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. ^(F)Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. ²⁸ Come to ^(G)Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you ^(H)and learn from Me, for I am ^[a]gentle and ^(I)lowly in heart, ^(J)and you will find rest for your souls. ^30 (K)For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”