Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 33[a]
33 You godly ones, shout for joy because of the Lord!
It is appropriate for the morally upright to offer him praise.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the harp.
Sing to him to the accompaniment of a ten-stringed instrument.
3 Sing to him a new song.[b]
Play skillfully as you shout out your praises to him.[c]
4 For the Lord’s decrees[d] are just,[e]
and everything he does is fair.[f]
5 He promotes[g] equity and justice;
the Lord’s faithfulness extends throughout the earth.[h]
6 By the Lord’s decree[i] the heavens were made,
and by the breath[j] of his mouth all the starry hosts.
7 He piles up the water of the sea;[k]
he puts the oceans[l] in storehouses.
8 Let the whole earth fear[m] the Lord.
Let all who live in the world stand in awe of him.
9 For he spoke, and it[n] came into existence.
He issued the decree,[o] and it stood firm.
10 The Lord frustrates[p] the decisions of the nations;
he nullifies the plans[q] of the peoples.
11 The Lord’s decisions stand forever;
his plans abide throughout the ages.[r]
12 How blessed[s] is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen to be his special possession.[t]
The Cutting of the Covenant
15 After these things the Lord’s message came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield[a] and the one who will reward you in great abundance.”[b]
2 But Abram said, “O Sovereign Lord,[c] what will you give me since[d] I continue to be[e] childless, and my heir[f] is[g] Eliezer of Damascus?”[h] 3 Abram added,[i] “Since[j] you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!”[k]
4 But look,[l] the Lord’s message came to him: “This man[m] will not be your heir, but instead[n] a son[o] who comes from your own body will be your heir.” 5 The Lord[p] took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars—if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”
6 Abram believed[q] the Lord, and the Lord[r] credited[s] it[t] as righteousness[u] to him.
7 The Lord said[v] to him, “I am the Lord[w] who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans[x] to give you this land to possess.” 8 But[y] Abram[z] said, “O Sovereign Lord,[aa] by what[ab] can I know that I am to possess it?”
9 The Lord[ac] said to him, “Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 10 So Abram[ad] took all these for him and then cut them in two[ae] and placed each half opposite the other,[af] but he did not cut the birds in half. 11 When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12 When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep,[ag] and great terror overwhelmed him.[ah] 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain[ai] that your descendants will be strangers[aj] in a foreign country.[ak] They will be enslaved and oppressed[al] for 400 years. 14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve.[am] Afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15 But as for you,[an] you will go to your ancestors[ao] in peace and be buried at a good old age.[ap] 16 In the fourth generation[aq] your descendants[ar] will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.”[as]
17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch[at] passed between the animal parts.[au] 18 That day the Lord made a covenant[av] with Abram: “To your descendants I give[aw] this land, from the river of Egypt[ax] to the great river, the Euphrates River— 19 the land[ay] of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,
Healing the Blind and Mute
27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men began to follow[a] him, shouting,[b] “Have mercy[c] on us, Son of David!”[d] 28 When[e] he went into the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus[f] said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then he touched their eyes saying, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” 30 And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about this!” 31 But they went out and spread the news about him throughout that entire region.[g]
32 As[h] they were going away,[i] a man who was demon-possessed and unable to speak[j] was brought to him. 33 After the demon was cast out, the man who had been mute began to speak.[k] The crowds were amazed and said, “Never has anything like this been seen in Israel!” 34 But the Pharisees[l] said, “By the ruler[m] of demons he casts out demons!”
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