Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Prayer for Vindication and Protection

A prayer of David.^[a]

³ Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother, to the land of Seir, the territory of Edom. ⁴ And he instructed them, saying, “Thus you must say to my lord, to Esau, ‘Thus says your servant Jacob, I have dwelled as an alien with Laban, and I have remained there until now. ⁵ And I have acquired cattle, male donkeys, flocks, and male and female slaves, and I have sent to tell my lord, to find favor in your eyes.’” ⁶ And the messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We came to your brother, to Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” ⁷ Then Jacob was very frightened and distressed. So he divided the people, flocks, cattle, and camels that were with him into two companies. ⁸ And he thought, “If Esau comes to one company and destroys it, the remaining company will be able to escape.” ⁹ Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O Yahweh, who said to me, ‘Return to your land and to your family, and I will deal well with you.’ ¹⁰ I am not worthy^[a] of all the loyal love and all the faithfulness that you have shown^[b] your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. ¹¹ Please rescue me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, lest he come and attack mother and children alike. ¹² Now you yourself said, ‘I will surely deal well with you and make your offspring as the sand of the sea that cannot be counted for abundance.’”

¹³ And he lodged there that night. Then he took from what he had with him^[c] a gift for Esau his brother: ¹⁴ two hundred female goats, twenty male goats, two hundred ewes, twenty rams, ¹⁵ thirty milk camels with their young, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys, and ten male donkeys. ¹⁶ And he put them under the hand of his servants, herd by herd,^[d] and said to his servants, “Cross on ahead before me, and put some distance between herds.^{[e] 17} And he instructed the foremost, saying, “When Esau my brother comes upon you and asks you, saying, ‘Whose are you and where are you going? To whom do these animals belong ahead of you?’ ¹⁸ Then you must say, ‘To your servant, to Jacob. It is a gift sent to my lord, to Esau. Now behold, he is also coming after us.’” ¹⁹ And he also instructed the second servant and the third, and everyone else who was behind the herds, saying, “You must speak to Esau according to this word when you find him. ²⁰ And moreover, you shall say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he thought, “Let me appease him^[f] with the gift going before me, and afterward I will see his face. Perhaps he will show me favor.”^{[g] 21} So the gift passed on before him, but he himself spent that night in the camp.

The Response to Peter’s Sermon

³⁷ Now when they^[a] heard this,^[b] they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “What should we do, men and brothers?” ³⁸ And Peter said^[c] to them, “Repent and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all those who are far away, as many as the Lord our God calls to himself.” ⁴⁰ And with many other words he solemnly urged and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this crooked generation!” ⁴¹ So those who accepted his message were baptized, and on that day about three thousand souls were added.

The Fellowship of the First Believers

⁴² And they were devoting themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayers. ⁴³ And fear came on every soul, and many wonders and signs were being performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴ And all who believed were in the same place, and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ And they began selling^[d] their^[e] possessions and property, and distributing these things to all, to the degree that anyone had need. ⁴⁶ And every day, devoting themselves to meeting^[f] with one purpose in the temple courts^[g] and breaking bread from house to house, they were eating their food with joy and simplicity of heart, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding every day to the total of those who were being saved.