Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Laban Tricks Jacob
15 One day Laban said to Jacob, “You are a relative of mine. It is not right for you to continue working for me without pay. What should I pay you?”
16 Now Laban had two daughters. The older was Leah and the younger was Rachel.
17 Leah’s eyes were gentle,[a] but Rachel was beautiful. 18 Jacob loved Rachel, so he said to Laban, “I will work seven years for you if you will allow me to marry your daughter Rachel.”
19 Laban said, “It would be better for her to marry you than someone else. So stay with me.”
20 So Jacob stayed and worked for Laban for seven years. But it seemed like a very short time because he loved Rachel very much.
21 After seven years Jacob said to Laban, “Give me Rachel so that I can marry her. My time of work for you is finished.”
22 So Laban gave a party for all the people in that place. 23 That night Laban brought his daughter Leah to Jacob. Jacob and Leah had sexual relations together. 24 (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter to be her maid.) 25 In the morning Jacob saw that it was Leah he had slept with, and he said to Laban, “You have tricked me. I worked hard for you so that I could marry Rachel. Why did you trick me?”
26 Laban said, “In our country we don’t allow the younger daughter to marry before the older daughter. 27 Continue for the full week of the marriage ceremony, and I will also give you Rachel to marry. But you must serve me another seven years.”
28 So Jacob did this and finished the week. Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife.
105 Give thanks to the Lord and call out to him!
Tell the nations what he has done!
2 Sing to him; sing praises to him.
Tell about the amazing things he has done.
3 Be proud of his holy name.
You followers of the Lord, be happy!
4 Depend on the Lord for strength.
Always go to him for help.
5 Remember the amazing things he has done.
Remember his miracles and his fair decisions.
6 You belong to the family of his servant Abraham.
You are descendants of Jacob, the people God chose.
7 The Lord is our God.
He rules the whole world.
8 He will remember his agreement forever.
He will always keep the promises he made to his people.
9 He will keep the agreement he made with Abraham
and the promise he made to Isaac.
10 He gave it as a law to Jacob.
He gave it to Israel as an agreement that will last forever!
11 He said, “I will give you the land of Canaan.
It will be your very own.”
45 He did this so that his people would obey his laws
and follow his teachings.
Praise the Lord!
A song for going up to the Temple.
128 Great blessings belong to those who fear and respect the Lord
and live the way he wants.
2 You will get what you work for.
You will enjoy the Lord’s blessings, and all will go well for you.
3 At home, your wife will have many children, like a vine full of grapes.
The children around your table will be like an orchard full of olive trees.
4 Yes, the Lord will really bless those who respect him.
5 May the Lord bless you from Mount Zion.
May you enjoy the blessings of Jerusalem all your life.
6 And may you live to see your grandchildren.
Let Israel always enjoy peace!
26 Also, the Spirit helps us. We are very weak, but the Spirit helps us with our weakness. We don’t know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself speaks to God for us. He begs God for us, speaking to him with feelings too deep for words. 27 God already knows our deepest thoughts. And he understands what the Spirit is saying, because the Spirit speaks for his people in the way that agrees with what God wants.
28 We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him. These are the people God chose, because that was his plan. 29 God knew them before he made the world. And he decided that they would be like his Son. Then Jesus would be the firstborn of many brothers and sisters. 30 God planned for them to be like his Son. He chose them and made them right with him. And after he made them right, he gave them his glory.
God’s Love in Christ Jesus
31 So what should we say about this? If God is for us, no one can stand against us. And God is with us. 32 He even let his own Son suffer for us. God gave his Son for all of us. So now with Jesus, God will surely give us all things. 33 Who can accuse the people God has chosen? No one! God is the one who makes them right. 34 Who can say that God’s people are guilty? No one! Christ Jesus died for us, but that is not all. He was also raised from death. And now he is at God’s right side, speaking to him for us. 35 Can anything separate us from Christ’s love? Can trouble or problems or persecution separate us from his love? If we have no food or clothes or face danger or even death, will that separate us from his love? 36 As the Scriptures say,
“For you we are in danger of death all the time.
People think we are worth no more than sheep to be killed.” (A)
37 But in all these troubles we have complete victory through God, who has shown his love for us. 38-39 Yes, I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not death, life, angels, or ruling spirits. I am sure that nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us or nothing below us—nothing in the whole created world—will ever be able to separate us from the love God has shown us in Christ Jesus our Lord.
What Is God’s Kingdom Like?(A)
31 Then Jesus told the people another story: “God’s kingdom is like a mustard seed that a man plants in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds. But when it grows, it is the largest of all garden plants. It becomes a tree big enough for the birds to come and make nests in its branches.”
33 Then Jesus told them another story: “God’s kingdom is like yeast that a woman mixes into a big bowl of flour to make bread. The yeast makes all the dough rise.”
Stories About a Treasure and a Pearl
44 “God’s kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field. One day a man found the treasure. He hid it again and was so happy that he went and sold everything he owned and bought the field.
45 “Also, God’s kingdom is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 One day he found a very fine pearl. He went and sold everything he had to buy it.
A Story About a Fishing Net
47 “Also, God’s kingdom is like a net that was put into the lake. The net caught many different kinds of fish. 48 It was full, so the fishermen pulled it to the shore. They sat down and put all the good fish in baskets. Then they threw away the bad fish. 49 It will be the same at the end of time. The angels will come and separate the evil people from the godly people. 50 They will throw the evil people into the place of fire. There the people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.”
51 Then Jesus asked his followers, “Do you understand all these things?”
They said, “Yes, we understand.”
52 Then Jesus said to the followers, “So every teacher of the law who has learned about God’s kingdom has some new things to teach. He is like the owner of a house. He has new things and old things saved in that house. And he brings out the new with the old.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International