Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Thanksgiving for Victory

The Beginning of the World

1 ·In the beginning [or In the beginning when] God created [^Cthis Hebrew verb is used only when God is the one creating] the ·sky [heavens] and the earth. ² ·The [or…the] earth ·had no form and was empty [or was a formless void]. Darkness covered the ·ocean [deep], and ·God’s Spirit [or a mighty wind] was ·moving [hovering] over the water.

³ Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, so he ·divided [separated] the light from the darkness. ⁵ God ·named [called] the light “day” and the darkness “night.” ·Evening passed, and morning came [^LThere was evening and there was morning; ^Cin the OT a day begins at nightfall]. This was the first day.

⁶ Then God said, “Let there be ·something to divide the water in two [^La firmament/dome/expanse in the midst of the waters to separate/divide the waters from the waters].” ⁷ So God made the ·air [^Lfirmament; dome; expanse; ^Crain clouds] and placed some of the water above the ·air [^Lfirmament; dome; expanse] and some below it [^Creferring to the rain and the oceans, lakes, and rivers]. ⁸ God ·named [called] the ·air [^Lfirmament/dome/expanse] “·sky [heaven].” Evening passed, and morning came [1:5]. This was the second day.

⁹ Then God said, “Let the water under the ·sky [heavens] be gathered together so the dry land will appear.” And it happened. ¹⁰ God ·named [called] the dry land “earth” and [^Lhe called] the water that was gathered together “seas.” God saw that this was good.

¹¹ Then God said, “Let the earth produce ·plants [vegetation]—some to make grain for seeds and ·others to make fruits with seeds in them. Every seed will produce more of its own kind of plant [^Lfruit trees on earth bearing fruit according to its own kind/species that has seed in them].” And it happened. ¹² The earth ·produced [brought forth] plants with grain for seeds and trees that made fruits with seeds in them. ·Each seed grew its own kind of plant [^L…according to its kind/species]. God saw that all this was good. ¹³ Evening passed, and morning came [1:5]. This was the third day.

¹⁴ Then God said, “Let there be lights in the ·sky [^Lfirmament/dome/expanse of the heavens] to ·separate [divide] day from night. ·These lights will be used for [^LThey will be] signs, seasons, days, and years. ¹⁵ They will be in the ·sky [^Lfirmament/dome/expanse] to give light to the earth.” And it happened.

¹⁶ So God made the two ·large [great] lights. He made the ·brighter [^Lgreater] light to rule the day and made the ·smaller [lesser] light to rule the night. ·He also made the stars [^L…and the stars]. ¹⁷ God put all these in the sky to shine on the earth, ¹⁸ to rule over the day and over the night, and to ·separate [divide] the light from the darkness. God saw that all these things were good. ¹⁹ Evening passed, and morning came [1:5]. This was the fourth day.

What Kind of Body Will We Have?

³⁵ But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have?” ³⁶ Foolish person! When you sow a seed, it must die in the ground before it can ·live and grow [come to life]. ³⁷ And when you sow it, it does not have the same “body” it will have later. [^LBut; On the contrary] What you sow is only a bare seed, maybe wheat or something else. ³⁸ But God gives it a body that he ·has planned [wants; has chosen] for it, and God gives each kind of seed its own body. ³⁹ All things made of flesh are not the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds have another, and fish have another. ⁴⁰ Also there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. But the ·beauty [splendor; glory] of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the ·beauty [splendor; glory] of the earthly bodies is another. ⁴¹ The sun has one kind of ·beauty [splendor; glory], the moon has another ·beauty [splendor; glory], and the stars have another. And each star is different in its ·beauty [splendor; glory].

⁴² It is the same with the dead who are raised to life. ·The body that is “planted” will ruin and decay [^LIt is sown/buried in corruption], but it is raised ·to a life that cannot be destroyed [imperishable; ^Lin incorruption]. ⁴³ ·When the body is “planted,” it is without honor [^LIt is sown/buried in dishonor], but it is raised in glory. ·When the body is “planted,” it is weak [^LIt is sown/buried in weakness], but ·when it is raised, it is powerful [^Lit is raised in power]. ⁴⁴ ·The body that is “planted” is a physical body [^LIt is sown/buried a natural/physical/soulish body]. ·When it is raised, it is [^LIt is raised] a spiritual body.

There is a ·physical [natural; soulish] body, and there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵ [^LSo also] It is written in the Scriptures: “The first man, Adam, became a living ·person [soul; Gen. 2:7].” But the last Adam [^CChrist] became a spirit that gives life. ⁴⁶ [^LBut] The spiritual did not come first, but the ·physical [natural; soulish] and then the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man came from the dust of the earth. The second man came from heaven. ⁴⁸ People who ·belong to the earth [or are of dust] are like the first man of ·earth [dust]. But those people who belong to heaven are like the man of heaven. ⁴⁹ Just as we ·were made like [^Lhave borne the image of] the man of earth, so we will^[a] also ·be made like [bear the image of] the man of heaven.