Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 113
The Mighty Deliverer
Invitation to Praise
1 Praise the Lord.[a]
Praise, you servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord.
2 Let the name of the Lord be blessed, from now to eternity.
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the name of the Lord is to be praised.
The Basis for Praise
4 High above all the nations is the Lord.
His glory towers above the heavens.
5 Who is like the Lord our God?
He is seated on high.
6 He bends down to look at the heavens and at the earth.
7 He raises the poor from the dust.
He lifts the needy from the garbage pile
8 to seat them with nobles,
with the nobles of his people.
9 He is the one who settles the barren woman in her home
as a joyful mother of children.
Praise the Lord.
The Family of Isaac
19 This is the account about the development of the family of Isaac, Abraham’s son.
Abraham became the father of Isaac. 20 Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, who was the daughter of Bethuel, an Aramean from Paddan Aram, and the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. 21 Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. The Lord answered his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 The children fought with each other inside her. She said, “What is this? Why is this happening to me?” She went to inquire of the Lord.
23 The Lord said to her:
Two nations are in your womb.
Two peoples will be separated from your body.
The one people will be stronger than the other people.
The elder will serve the younger.
24 When it was time for her to give birth, it was true: There were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red all over, like a hairy garment. They named him Esau.[a] 26 After that, his brother came out, with his hand grabbing Esau’s heel. So he was named Jacob.[b] Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them.
27 The boys grew up. Esau was a skillful hunter, an outdoorsman. Jacob was a quiet man, who stayed home among the tents. 28 Now Isaac loved Esau more, because he ate Esau’s wild game. Rebekah loved Jacob.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, 16 for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, things seen and unseen, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and all things hold together in him.
18 He is also the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that in all things he might have the highest rank. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself (whether things on earth or in heaven) by making peace through the blood of his cross.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.