Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Jacob’s Vow at Bethel

¹⁰ Now Jacob ^(A)went out from Beersheba and went toward ^(B)Haran. ¹¹ So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. ¹² Then he ^(C)dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there ^(D)the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

^13 (E)And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: ^(F)“I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; ^(G)the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. ¹⁴ Also your ^(H)descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad ^(I)to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and ^(J)in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. ¹⁵ Behold, ^(K)I am with you and will ^(L)keep^[a] you wherever you go, and will ^(M)bring you back to this land; for ^(N)I will not leave you ^(O)until I have done what I have spoken to you.”

¹⁶ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in ^(P)this place, and I did not know it.” ¹⁷ And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

¹⁸ Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, ^(Q)set it up as a pillar, ^(R)and poured oil on top of it. ¹⁹ And he called the name of ^(S)that place ^[b]Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously.

God’s Perfect Knowledge of Man

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

Sonship Through the Spirit

^12 (A)Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. ¹³ For ^(B)if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you ^(C)put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴ For ^(D)as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. ¹⁵ For ^(E)you did not receive the spirit of bondage again ^(F)to fear, but you received the ^(G)Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ^(H)“Abba,^[a] Father.” ^16 (I)The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then ^(J)heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, ^(K)if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

From Suffering to Glory

¹⁸ For I consider that ^(L)the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For ^(M)the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For ^(N)the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; ²¹ because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of ^[b]corruption into the glorious ^(O)liberty of the children of God. ²² For we know that the whole creation ^(P)groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. ²³ Not only that, but we also who have ^(Q)the firstfruits of the Spirit, ^(R)even we ourselves groan ^(S)within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the ^(T)redemption of our body. ²⁴ For we were saved in this hope, but ^(U)hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

²⁴ Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; ²⁵ but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. ²⁶ But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. ²⁷ So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ ²⁸ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ ²⁹ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but ^(A)gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

The Parable of the Tares Explained

³⁶ Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”

³⁷ He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ^38 (A)The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are ^(B)the sons of the wicked one. ³⁹ The enemy who sowed them is the devil, ^(C)the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. ⁴⁰ Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out His angels, ^(D)and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, ^42 (E)and will cast them into the furnace of fire. ^(F)There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. ^43 (G)Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. ^(H)He who has ears to hear, let him hear!