Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
23 You who fear Yahweh, praise Him!(A)
All you descendants of Jacob, honor Him!
All you descendants of Israel, revere Him!(B)
24 For He has not despised or detested
the torment of the afflicted.(C)
He did not hide His face from him(D)
but listened when he cried to Him for help.(E)
25 I will give praise[a] in the great congregation
because of You;(F)
I will fulfill my vows
before those who fear You.[b](G)
26 The humble[c] will eat and be satisfied;(H)
those who seek the Lord will praise Him.
May your hearts live forever!(I)
27 All the ends of the earth will remember
and turn to the Lord.
All the families of the nations
will bow down before You,(J)
28 for kingship belongs to the Lord;
He rules over the nations.(K)
29 All who prosper on earth will eat and bow down;
all those who go down to the dust
will kneel before Him—
even the one who cannot preserve his life.(L)
30 Their descendants will serve Him;
the next generation will be told about the Lord.(M)
31 They will come and tell a people yet to be born
about His righteousness—
what He has done.(N)
The Abrahamic Covenant
15 After these events, the word of the Lord came(A) to Abram in a vision:
2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what can You give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”[a] 3 Abram continued, “Look, You have given me no offspring, so a slave born in[b] my house will be my heir.”
4 Now the word of the Lord came to him: “This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body[c] will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then He said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.”(D)
6 Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.(E)
12 As the sun was setting, a deep sleep(A) fell on Abram, and suddenly great terror and darkness descended on him.
13 Then the Lord said to Abram,(B) “Know this for certain: Your offspring will be foreigners(C) in a land that does not belong to them; they will be enslaved and oppressed[a] 400 years.(D) 14 However, I will judge the nation they serve,(E) and afterward they will go out with many possessions.(F) 15 But you will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.(G) 16 In the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”[b](H)
17 When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the divided animals. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your offspring,(I) from the brook of Egypt(J) to the Euphrates River:[c]
God’s Righteousness through Faith
21 But now, apart from the law, God’s righteousness has been revealed(A)—attested by the Law and the Prophets[a](B) 22 —that is, God’s righteousness through faith(C) in Jesus Christ,[b](D) to all who believe,(E) since there is no distinction.(F) 23 For all have sinned(G) and fall short of the[c] glory of God. 24 They are justified freely by His grace(H) through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.(I) 25 God presented Him as a propitiation[d](J) through faith in His blood,(K) to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God(L) passed over the sins previously committed.(M) 26 God presented Him to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be righteous and declare righteous[e] the one who has faith in Jesus.
Boasting Excluded
27 Where then is boasting?(N) It is excluded. By what kind of law?[f](O) By one of works? No, on the contrary, by a law[g] of faith. 28 For we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.(P) 29 Or is God for Jews only?(Q) Is He not also for Gentiles? Yes, for Gentiles too, 30 since there is one God(R) who will justify the circumcised by faith(S) and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then cancel the law through faith? Absolutely not!(T) On the contrary, we uphold the law.(U)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.