Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
23 You who fear the Lord, 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 abhorred
the torment of the oppressed.(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 in the great assembly
because of you;(F)
I will fulfill my vows
before those who fear you.[a](G)
26 The humble 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 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 declare his righteousness;
to a people yet to be born
they will declare what he has done.(N)
The Abrahamic Covenant
15 After these events, the word of the Lord came(A) to Abram in a vision:
your reward will be very great.
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) came over 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 resident aliens(C) for four hundred years(D) in a land that does not belong to them and will be enslaved and oppressed.[a] 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 ancestors in peace and be buried at a good 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 great river, the Euphrates River:
The Righteousness of God through Faith
21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed,(A) attested by the Law and the Prophets.[a](B) 22 The righteousness of God is 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 the mercy seat[d](J) by his blood,(K) through faith, 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 just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.
Boasting Excluded
27 Where, then, is boasting?(N) It is excluded. By what kind of law?[e](O) By one of works? No, on the contrary, by a law[f] of faith. 28 For we conclude that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.(P) 29 Or is God the God of Jews only?(Q) Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of 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 nullify the law through faith? Absolutely not!(T) On the contrary, we uphold the law.(U)
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