Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Cutting a Covenant
15 After these things the word of Adonai came to Abram in a vision saying,
“Do not fear, Abram.
I am your shield,
your very great reward.”
2 But Abram said, “My Lord Adonai, what will You give me, since I am living without children, and the heir of my household is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Then Abram said, “Look! You have given me no seed, so a house-born servant is my heir.”
4 Then behold, the word of Adonai came to him saying, “This one will not be your heir, but in fact, one who will come from your own body will be your heir. 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up now, at the sky, and count the stars—if you are able to count them.” Then He said to him, “So shall your seed be.”
6 Then he believed in Adonai and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
7 Then He said to him, “I am Adonai who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans, in order to give you this land to inherit it.”
8 So he said, “My Lord Adonai, how will I know that I will inherit it?”
9 Then He said to him, “Bring Me a three year old young cow, a three year old she-goat, a three year old ram, a turtle-dove and a young bird.”
10 So he brought all these to Him and cut them in half, and put each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds. 11 Then birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12 When the sun was about to set and a deep sleep fell on Abram, behold, terror of great darkness was falling upon him!
17 When the sun set and it became dark, behold, there was a smoking oven and a fiery torch that passed between these pieces.
18 On that day Adonai cut a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your seed, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River:
Let Your Heart Take Courage
Psalm 27
1 Of David.
Adonai is my light and my salvation:
whom should I fear?
Adonai is the stronghold of my life:
whom should I dread?
2 When evildoers approached me to devour my flesh
—my adversaries and my foes—they stumbled and fell.
3 Though an army camp besieges me, my heart will not fear.
Though war breaks out against me, even then will I be confident.
4 One thing have I asked of Adonai,
that will I seek:
to dwell in the House of Adonai
all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of Adonai,
and to meditate in His Temple.
5 For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His sukkah,
conceal me in the shelter of His tent,
and set me high upon a rock.
6 Then will my head be high above my enemies around me.
In His Tabernacle I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy.
I will sing, yes, sing praises to Adonai.
7 Hear, Adonai, when I call with my voice,
be gracious to me and answer me.
8 To You my heart says: “Seek My face.”
Your face, Adonai, I seek.
9 Do not hide Your face from me.
Do not turn Your servant away in anger.
You have been my help.
Do not abandon me or forsake me,
O God my salvation.
10 Though my father and my mother
forsake me, Adonai will take me in.
11 Teach me Your way, Adonai,
and lead me on a level path—
because of my enemies.
12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes.
For false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence.
13 Surely I trust that I will see the goodness
of Adonai in the land of the living.
14 Wait for Adonai.
Be strong, let Your heart take courage,
and wait for Adonai.
17 Brothers and sisters, join in following my example and notice those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. (18 For many walk who are enemies of the cross of Messiah—I have often told you about them, and now I am even weeping as I tell you. 19 Their end is destruction—their god is their belly and their glory is in their shame. They set their minds on earthly things.)
20 For our citizenship is in heaven,
and from there we eagerly wait for the Savior,
the Lord Yeshua the Messiah.
21 He will transform this humble body of ours
into the likeness of His glorious body,
through the power that enables Him
even to put all things in subjection to Himself.
4 Therefore, my brothers and sisters whom I love and long for, my joy and crown—stand firm in the Lord in this way, my loved ones.
A Warning to Move On
31 In that hour, some Pharisees came up and said to Yeshua, “Get out and leave from here, because Herod wants to kill You!”
32 But Yeshua said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Indeed, I’m driving out demons and performing healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach My goal.’ 33 But I must keep going today and tomorrow because it just can’t be that a prophet would perish outside Jerusalem.
34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. 35 Look, your house is left to you desolate![a] For I tell you, you will never see Me until you say, ‘Baruch ha-ba b’shem Adonai. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’[b]”
Glorified on a Mountain
28 About eight days after these teachings, Yeshua took Peter, John, and Jacob with Him and went up the mountain to pray. 29 While He was praying, the appearance of His face changed, and His clothing flashed like white lightning. 30 And behold, two men were talking with Him, Moses and Elijah. 31 Appearing in glory, they were speaking of Yeshua’s departure, which was about to take place in Jerusalem.
32 Now Peter and those with him were overcome with sleep. But when they awakened, they saw Yeshua’s glory and the two men standing with Him. 33 And as they were leaving Yeshua, Peter said to Him, “Master, it’s good for us to be here. Let’s make three sukkot: one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he was saying.
34 While he was yet saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, the One I have chosen. Listen to Him!” [a] 36 And after the voice happened, Yeshua was found alone. They kept quiet and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.
Coming Down from the Mountaintop
37 On the next day as they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Yeshua. 38 Suddenly a man from the crowd shouted out loudly, saying, “Teacher, I’m begging You to look at my son, for he’s my only child! 39 You see, a spirit takes hold of him, and he immediately screams. It throws him into convulsions with frothing. It hardly ever leaves him—it’s crushing him! 40 I begged Your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn’t.”
41 Then answering, Yeshua said, “O faithless and twisted generation,[a] how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” 42 And while the boy was still approaching Yeshua, the demon knocked him down to the ground and threw him into convulsions. But Yeshua rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and restored him to his father. 43 And all were amazed at the mighty power of God. But as everyone was marveling at all He was doing, He said to His disciples,
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.