Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Beloved’s Request
The Shulamite
8 The voice of my beloved!
Behold, he comes
Leaping upon the mountains,
Skipping upon the hills.
9 (A)My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Behold, he stands behind our wall;
He is looking through the windows,
Gazing through the lattice.
10 My beloved spoke, and said to me:
“Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away.
11 For lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
12 The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove
Is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth her green figs,
And the vines with the tender grapes
Give a good smell.
Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away!
Esau’s Lost Hope(A)
30 Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also had made [a]savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, “Let my father arise and (B)eat of his son’s game, that your soul may bless me.”
32 And his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?”
So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”
33 Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—(C)and indeed he shall be blessed.”
34 When Esau heard the words of his father, (D)he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!”
35 But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.”
36 And Esau said, (E)“Is he not rightly named [b]Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”
37 Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, (F)“Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with (G)grain and wine I have [c]sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?”
38 And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice (H)and wept.
39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:
“Behold, (I)your dwelling shall be of the [d]fatness of the earth,
And of the dew of heaven from above.
40 By your sword you shall live,
And (J)you shall serve your brother;
And (K)it shall come to pass, when you become restless,
That you shall break his yoke from your neck.”
Jacob Escapes from Esau
41 So Esau (L)hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, (M)“The days of mourning for my father [e]are at hand; (N)then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
42 And the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Surely your brother Esau (O)comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice: arise, flee to my brother Laban (P)in Haran. 44 And stay with him a (Q)few days, until your brother’s fury turns away, 45 until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereaved also of you both in one day?”
46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, (R)“I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; (S)if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”
God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness
18 (A)For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and (B)unrighteousness of men, who [a]suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because (C)what may be known of God is [b]manifest [c]in them, for (D)God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world (E)His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and [d]Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but (F)became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 (G)Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the (H)incorruptible (I)God into an image made like [e]corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
24 (J)Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, (K)to dishonor their bodies (L)among themselves, 25 who exchanged (M)the truth of God (N)for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.