Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Lord Exalts the Humble.

¹¹ He made the camels kneel down outside the city by ^(A)the well of water at evening time, ^(B)the time when women go out to draw water. ¹² He said, “^(C)O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, please ^[a](D)grant me success today, and show lovingkindness to my master Abraham. ¹³ Behold, ^(E)I am standing by the ^[b]spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water; ¹⁴ now may it be that the girl to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and ^[c]who answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’—may she be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown lovingkindness to my master.”

Rebekah Is Chosen

^15 (F)Before he had finished speaking, behold, ^(G)Rebekah who was born to Bethuel the son of ^(H)Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder. ¹⁶ The girl was ^(I)very beautiful, a virgin, and no man had ^[d]had relations with her; and she went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. ¹⁷ Then the servant ran to meet her, and said, “^(J)Please let me drink a little water from your jar.” ^18 (K)She said, “Drink, my lord”; and she quickly lowered her jar to her hand, and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ Now when she had finished giving him a drink, ^(L)she said, “I will draw also for your camels until they have finished drinking.” ²⁰ So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, and ran back to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels. ^21 (M)Meanwhile, the man was gazing at her ^[e]in silence, to know whether the Lord had made his journey successful or not.

²² When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a ^(N)gold ring weighing a half-shekel and two bracelets for her ^[f]wrists weighing ten shekels in gold, ²³ and said, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room for us to lodge in your father’s house?” ²⁴ She said to him, “^(O)I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” ²⁵ Again she said to him, “We have plenty of both straw and feed, and room to lodge in.” ²⁶ Then the man ^(P)bowed low and worshiped the Lord. ²⁷ He said, “^(Q)Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken ^(R)His lovingkindness and His truth toward my master; as for me, ^(S)the Lord has guided me in the way to the house of my master’s brothers.”

⁹ A widow is to be ^(A)put on the list only if she is not less than sixty years old, having been ^(B)the wife of one man, ¹⁰ having a reputation for ^(C)good works; and if she has brought up children, if she has ^(D)shown hospitality to strangers, if she ^(E)has washed the ^[a]saints’ feet, if she has ^(F)assisted those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to every good work. ¹¹ But refuse to put younger widows on the list, for when they feel ^(G)sensual desires in disregard of Christ, they want to get married, ¹² thus incurring condemnation, because they have set aside their previous ^[b]pledge. ¹³ At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also ^(H)gossips and ^(I)busybodies, talking about ^(J)things not proper to mention. ¹⁴ Therefore, I want younger widows to get ^(K)married, bear children, ^(L)keep house, and ^(M)give the enemy no occasion for reproach; ¹⁵ for some ^(N)have already turned aside to follow ^(O)Satan. ¹⁶ If any woman who is a believer ^(P)has dependent widows, she must ^(Q)assist them and the church must not be burdened, so that it may assist those who are ^(R)widows indeed.