Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 124
The Lord Is on Our Side
A Davidic song of ascents.
1 If the Lord had not been on our side—
let Israel say—
2 If the Lord had not been on our side(A)
when men attacked us,(B)
3 then they would have swallowed us alive
in their burning anger against us.(C)
4 Then the waters would have engulfed us;
the torrent would have swept over us;
5 the raging waters would have swept over us.(D)
Jacob’s Last Words
49 Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather around, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the days to come.[a](A)
2 Come together and listen, sons of Jacob;
listen to your father Israel:
3 Reuben, you are my firstborn,(B)
my strength and the firstfruits of my virility,(C)
excelling in prominence, excelling in power.
4 Turbulent as water, you will no longer excel,
because you got into your father’s bed(D)
and you defiled it—he[b] got into my bed.
5 Simeon and Levi are brothers;
their knives are vicious weapons.(E)
6 May I never enter their council;
may I never join their assembly.
For in their anger they kill men,
and on a whim they hamstring oxen.
7 Their anger is cursed, for it is strong,
and their fury, for it is cruel!
I will disperse them throughout Jacob
and scatter them throughout Israel.(F)
8 Judah, your brothers will praise you.(G)
Your hand will be on the necks of your enemies;
your father’s sons will bow down to you.(H)
9 Judah is a young lion(I)—
my son, you return from the kill.
He crouches; he lies down like a lion
or a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah
or the staff from between his feet
until He whose right it is comes[c](J)
and the obedience of the peoples belongs to Him.(K)
11 He ties his donkey to a vine,
and the colt of his donkey to the choice vine.
He washes his clothes in wine
and his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth are whiter than milk.
13 Zebulun will live by the seashore
and will be a harbor for ships,
and his territory will be next to Sidon.(L)
14 Issachar is a strong donkey
lying down between the saddlebags.[d]
15 He saw that his resting place was good
and that the land was pleasant,
so he leaned his shoulder to bear a load
and became a forced laborer.(M)
16 Dan will judge his people(N)
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 He will be a snake by the road,
a viper beside the path,
that bites the horses’ heels
so that its rider falls backward.
18 I wait for Your salvation, Lord.
19 Gad will be attacked by raiders,
but he will attack their heels.(O)
21 Naphtali is a doe set free
that bears beautiful fawns.(Q)
22 Joseph is a fruitful vine,
a fruitful vine beside a spring;
its branches[f] climb over the wall.[g]
23 The archers attacked him,
shot at him, and were hostile toward him.
24 Yet his bow remained steady,
and his strong[h] arms were made agile
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,(R)
by the name of[i] the Shepherd,(S) the Rock of Israel,(T)
25 by the God of your father who helps you,
and by the Almighty who blesses you
with blessings of the heavens above,
blessings of the deep that lies below,
and blessings of the breasts and the womb.
26 The blessings of your father excel
the blessings of my ancestors[j]
and[k] the bounty of the eternal hills.[l](U)
May they rest on the head of Joseph,
on the crown of the prince of his brothers.
27 Benjamin is a wolf; he tears his prey.
In the morning he devours the prey,
and in the evening he divides the plunder.”(V)
28 These are the tribes of Israel, 12 in all, and this was what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.
Jacob’s Burial Instructions
29 Then he commanded them: “I am about to be gathered to my people.(W) Bury me with my fathers(X) in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.(Y) 30 The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. This is the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.(Z) 31 Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried there,(AA) Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried there,(AB) and I buried Leah there.(AC) 32 The field and the cave in it were purchased from the Hittites.” 33 When Jacob had finished instructing his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and died. He was gathered to his people.
Lawsuits among Believers
6 If any of you has a legal dispute against another, do you dare go to court(A) before the unrighteous,[a] and not before the saints? 2 Or don’t you know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest cases? 3 Don’t you know that we will judge angels—not to mention ordinary matters? 4 So if you have cases pertaining to this life, do you select those[b] who have no standing(B) in the church to judge? 5 I say this to your shame!(C) Can it be that there is not one wise person among you who is able to arbitrate between his brothers?(D) 6 Instead, believer[c] goes to court against believer, and that before unbelievers!(E)
7 Therefore, to have legal disputes against one another is already a moral failure for you.(F) Why not rather put up with injustice?(G) Why not rather be cheated?(H) 8 Instead, you act unjustly and cheat—and you do this to believers! 9 Don’t you know that the unrighteous(I) will not inherit God’s kingdom?(J) Do not be deceived: No sexually immoral people, idolaters,(K) adulterers,(L) or anyone practicing homosexuality,[d](M) 10 no thieves,(N) greedy(O) people, drunkards, verbally abusive people,(P) or swindlers(Q) will inherit God’s kingdom. 11 And some of you used to be like this.(R) But you were washed, you were sanctified,(S) you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
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