Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

God blesses Jacob and Laban

²⁵ After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me off so that I can go to my own place and my own country. ²⁶ Give me my wives and children whom I’ve worked for, and I will go. You know the work I’ve done for you.”

²⁷ Laban said to him, “Do me this favor. I’ve discovered by a divine sign that the Lord has blessed me because of you, ²⁸ so name your price and I will pay it.”

²⁹ Jacob said to him, “You know how I’ve worked for you, and how well your livestock have done with me. ³⁰ While in my care, what little you had has multiplied a great deal. The Lord blessed you wherever I took your livestock.^[a] Now, when will I be able to work for my own household too?”

³¹ Laban said, “What will I pay you?”

Jacob said, “Don’t pay me anything. If you will do this for me, I will take care of your flock again, and keep a portion.^{[b] 32} I will go through the entire flock today, taking out all of the speckled and spotted sheep, all of the black male lambs, and all of the spotted and speckled female goats. That will be my price. ³³ I will be completely honest with you: when you come to check on our agreement, every female goat with me that isn’t speckled or spotted and every male lamb with me that isn’t black will be considered stolen.”

³⁴ Laban said, “All right; let’s do it.” ³⁵ However, on that very day Laban took out the striped and spotted male goats and all of the speckled and spotted female goats—any with some white in it—and all of the black male lambs, and gave them to his sons. ³⁶ He put a three-day trip between himself and Jacob, while Jacob was watching the rest of Laban’s flock.

³⁷ Then Jacob took new branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees; and he peeled white stripes on them, exposing the branches’ white color. ³⁸ He set the branches that he had peeled near the watering troughs so that they were in front of the flock when they drank, because they often mated when they came to drink. ³⁹ When the flock mated in front of the branches, they gave birth to striped, speckled, and spotted young. ⁴⁰ Jacob sorted out the lambs, turning the flock to face the striped and black ones in Laban’s flock but keeping his flock separate, setting them apart from Laban’s flock. ⁴¹ Whenever the strongest of the flock mated, Jacob put the branches in front of them near the watering troughs so that they mated near the branches. ⁴² But he didn’t put branches up for the weakest of the flock. So the weakest became Laban’s and the strongest Jacob’s. ⁴³ The man Jacob became very, very rich: he owned large flocks, female and male servants, camels, and donkeys.

¹⁷ “Brothers and sisters, I know you acted in ignorance. So did your rulers. ¹⁸ But this is how God fulfilled what he foretold through all the prophets: that his Christ would suffer. ¹⁹ Change your hearts and lives! Turn back to God so that your sins may be wiped away. ²⁰ Then the Lord will provide a season of relief from the distress of this age and he will send Jesus, whom he handpicked to be your Christ. ²¹ Jesus must remain in heaven until the restoration of all things, about which God spoke long ago through his holy prophets. ²² Moses said, The Lord your God will raise up from your own people a prophet like me. Listen to whatever he tells you. ²³ Whoever doesn’t listen to that prophet will be totally cut off from the people.^{[a] 24} All the prophets who spoke—from Samuel forward—announced these days. ²⁵ You are the heirs of the prophets and the covenant that God made with your ancestors when he told Abraham, Through your descendants, all the families on earth will be blessed.^{[b] 26} After God raised his servant, he sent him to you first—to bless you by enabling each of you to turn from your evil ways.”