Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Her Lover’s Visit Remembered
8 W The sound of my lover! here he comes[a]
springing across the mountains,
leaping across the hills.
9 My lover is like a gazelle[b]
or a young stag.
See! He is standing behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattices.
10 My lover speaks and says to me,
M “Arise, my friend, my beautiful one,
and come!
11 For see, the winter is past,
the rains are over and gone.
12 The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of pruning the vines has come,
and the song of the turtledove is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance.
Arise, my friend, my beautiful one,
and come!
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he made her fruitful, while Rachel was barren. 32 Leah conceived and bore a son, and she named him Reuben;[a] for she said, “It means, ‘The Lord saw my misery; surely now my husband will love me.’”(A) 33 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “It means, ‘The Lord heard that I was unloved,’ and therefore he has given me this one also”; so she named him Simeon.[b] 34 Again she conceived and bore a son, and she said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me, since I have now borne him three sons”; that is why she named him Levi.[c] 35 Once more she conceived and bore a son, and she said, “This time I will give thanks to the Lord”; therefore she named him Judah.[d] Then she stopped bearing children.(B)
III. The Book of Glory[a]
Chapter 13
The Washing of the Disciples’ Feet.[b] 1 Before the feast of Passover,[c] Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.(A) 2 The devil had already induced[d] Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over. So, during supper,(B) 3 fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God,(C) 4 he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. 5 [e]Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet(D) and dry them with the towel around his waist. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Master, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later.” 8 Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”(E) 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Whoever has bathed[f] has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all.”(F) 11 For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.”(G)
12 So when he had washed their feet [and] put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? 13 You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am.(H) 14 If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.(I) 16 Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger[g] greater than the one who sent him.(J) 17 If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.