Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
41 [a]Let your kindness[b] descend on me, O Lord,
your salvation in accord with your promise.
42 Then I will respond to those who insult me,
because I trust in your word.
43 Do not remove from my mouth the word of truth,[c]
for I place my hope in your judgment.
44 I will keep your law continually,
forever and ever.
45 I will walk in complete freedom
because I have sought your commands.[d]
46 I will speak of your statutes in the presence of kings
and will not be ashamed.
47 Your precepts fill me with delight
because I love them.
48 I lift up my hands[e] to your precepts, which I love,
and I meditate on your decrees.
Zayin
Chapter 16
Abram’s Son Ishmael.[a] 1 Now Sarai, the wife of Abram, did not have any children. She had an Egyptian slave named Hagar. 2 Sarai said to Abram, “Behold, the Lord has kept me from having children; sleep with my slave. Maybe I can have children through her.”
Abram did what Sarai had told him to do. 3 Thus, ten years after Abram had begun to live in the land of Canaan, Sarai, the wife of Abram, took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant.
But once she realized that she was pregnant, she no longer treated her mistress with respect. 5 Therefore, Sarai said to Abram, “May this affront fall upon you! I gave you my maid to embrace, but when she realized that she was pregnant, she stopped treating me with respect. Let the Lord judge between you and me.”
6 Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your slave is in your hands. Do with her as you see fit.” Sarai then maltreated her so much that Hagar ran away.
7 The angel of the Lord[b] found her near a spring in the desert. The spring was on the road to Shur. 8 The angel said to her, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She answered, “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.”
9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and be obedient to her.” 10 The angel of the Lord continued, “I will multiply the number of your descendants so much that you will not be able to count them.”
11 The angel of the Lord added,
“Behold, you are pregnant:
you will bear a son
and call him Ishmael,
for the Lord has listened to you in your distress.
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man;
his hand will be against all
and the hands of all will be against him.
He will be opposed to all of his brothers.”
13 Hagar gave a name to the Lord who had spoken to her, “You are the God of the Vision.”[c] Therefore, she said, “Here I remained alive after having received this vision.” 14 Because of this, the well is called Beer-lahai-roi. It is between Kedesh and Bered.
15 Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son. Abram named the son whom Hagar had borne Ishmael.
14 What Relation Can There Be between Righteousness and Iniquity? Do not associate with unbelievers.[a] For what basis can there be for a partnership between righteousness and lawlessness? What do light and darkness have in common? 15 Can Christ ever be in accord with Beliar?[b] What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 Can there be an agreement between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God, and for this we have God’s word:
“I will live in them and walk among them.
I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
17 Therefore, come out from their midst
and separate yourselves from them,
says the Lord.
Do not touch anything unclean,
and I will welcome you.
18 I will be a father to you,
and you shall be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.”
Chapter 7
1 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from anything that can defile flesh or spirit, and thereby make our holiness perfect in the fear of God.
Trust Reestablished. 2 Make room in your hearts for us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one.
Copyright © 2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.