Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
41 Lord, ·show [L bring] me your ·love [loyalty],
and ·save me [give me victory] as you have ·promised [said].
42 I have an answer for people who ·insult [scorn] me,
because I ·trust [find refuge in] what you say.
43 Never ·keep me from speaking your truth [L take the word of truth from my mouth],
because I ·depend [pin my hopes] on your ·fair laws [judgments].
44 I will ·obey [keep; guard] your ·teachings [instructions; laws]
forever and ever.
45 So I will live in ·freedom [liberty],
because I ·want to follow [L seek] your ·orders [precepts].
46 I will discuss your ·rules [decrees; testimonies] with kings
and will not be ashamed.
47 I ·enjoy obeying [L delight in] your commands,
which I love.
48 I ·praise [L lift my palms/hands to] your commands, which I love,
and I ·think [meditate] about your ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements].
Proof of the Covenant
17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am ·God Almighty [L El Shaddai]. ·Obey [L Walk before] me and ·do what is right [L be innocent/blameless; Job 1:1]. 2 I will make an ·agreement [covenant; treaty; 6:18] between ·us [L me and you], and I will make you ·the ancestor of many people [L exceedingly numerous].”
3 Then Abram ·bowed facedown on the ground [L fell on his face]. God said to him, 4 “I am making my ·agreement [covenant; treaty; 6:18] with you: I will make you the father of ·many [L a host/multitude of] nations. 5 I am changing your name from Abram [C meaning “exalted father”] to Abraham [C sounds like “father of a multitude” in Hebrew] because I am making you a father of ·many [L a host/multitude of] nations. 6 I will ·give you many descendants [L cause you to be exceedingly fruitful; 1:22]. ·New nations will be born from you [L I will make nations of you], and kings will come from you. 7 And I will make an ·agreement [covenant; treaty; 6:18] between me and you and all your ·descendants [L seed] ·from now on [or forever]: I will be your God and the God of all your descendants. 8 You live in the land of Canaan now as a ·stranger [sojourner; wanderer; resident alien], but I will give you and your ·descendants [L seed] all this land ·forever [L as a permanent possesssion]. And I will be the God of your ·descendants [L seed].”
9 Then God said to Abraham, “You and your ·descendants [seed] must ·keep [obey; guard] this ·agreement [covenant; treaty; 6:18] ·from now on [L throughout their generations]. 10 This is my ·agreement [covenant; treaty; 6:18] with you and all your ·descendants [L seed], which you must ·obey [keep; guard]: Every male among you must be circumcised [C the ritual of membership in the covenant/treaty]. 11 ·Cut away [Circumcise] [L the flesh of] your foreskin ·to show that you are prepared to follow the agreement [L as a sign of the covenant/treaty] between me and you. 12 ·From now on [L Throughout your generations] when a baby boy is eight days old, you will circumcise him. This includes any ·boy born among your people [L house-born slave] or any who is ·your slave [L bought with money from a foreigner], who is not one of your ·descendants [L seed]. 13 Circumcise every baby boy whether he is born in your ·family [L house] or bought ·as a slave [L with money from a foreigner]. ·Your bodies will be marked to show that you are part of my agreement [L …so that my covenant/treaty might be in your flesh as a covenant/treaty] that lasts forever. 14 Any [L uncircumcised] male ·who [L whose foreskin] is not circumcised will be cut off from his people, because he has broken my ·agreement [covenant; treaty; 6:18].”
Isaac—the Promised Son
15 God said to Abraham, “I will change the name of Sarai [C meaning “princess” in her native dialect; 11:29], your wife, to Sarah [C also meaning “princess,” but in a dialect of Canaan, signifying her transition to the Promised Land]. 16 I will bless her and give ·her a son, and you will be the father [L from her to you a son]. She will ·be the mother of [give rise to] many nations. Kings of nations will come from her.”
17 Abraham ·bowed facedown on the ground [L fell on his face] and laughed. He ·said to himself [thought; L said in his heart], “Can a man have a child when he is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth to a child when she is ninety?” 18 Then Abraham said to God, “Please let Ishmael ·be the son you promised [L live before you].”
19 God said, “·No, [or Yes, but] Sarah your wife will have a son, and you will name him Isaac [C related to the verb meaning “to laugh”]. I will make my ·agreement [covenant; treaty; 6:18] with him to be an ·agreement that continues forever [eternal covenant/treaty] with all his ·descendants [L seed].
20 “As for Ishmael, I have heard you. I will bless him and ·give him many descendants [L make him fruitful]. And I will cause their numbers to grow greatly. He will be the father of twelve great ·leaders [princes; chiefs; 25:16], and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will make my ·agreement [covenant; treaty; 6:18] with Isaac, the son whom Sarah will have at this same time next year.” 22 After ·God [L he] finished talking with Abraham, God ·rose and left him [L went up from Abraham].
23 Then Abraham ·gathered [L took] Ishmael, all the males ·born in his camp [L of his house], and ·the slaves he had bought [L those bought with money]. So that day Abraham circumcised [L the flesh of his foreskin of] every man and boy in his camp as God had told him to do. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he ·was circumcised [L circumcised the flesh of his foreskin]. 25 And Ishmael, his son, was thirteen years old when he was circumcised [L in the flesh of his foreskin]. 26 Abraham and his son were circumcised on the same day. 27 Also on that day all the men in Abraham’s camp were circumcised, including all those born in his ·camp [L house] and all ·the slaves he had bought from other nations [L all those bought of a stranger].
13 Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. 2 ·Remember [Do not forget/neglect] to ·welcome [show hospitality to] strangers, because some who have done this have welcomed angels without knowing it [Gen. 18:1–16; 19:1–22]. 3 Remember those who are in prison as if you were in prison with them. Remember those who are ·suffering [mistreated] ·as if you were suffering with them [or since you are vulnerable to the same treatment; L being in a/the body yourselves].
4 Marriage should be honored by everyone, and ·husband and wife should keep their marriage [L the marriage bed should be kept] ·pure [undefiled]. God will ·judge as guilty [L judge] ·those who take part in sexual sins [L the sexually immoral and adulterers]. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be ·satisfied [content] with what you have. [L For] God has said,
“I will never leave you;
I will never ·abandon [T forsake] you [Deut. 31:6].”
6 So we can be ·sure [confident; bold] when we say,
“I will not be afraid, because the Lord is my helper.
·People can’t do anything [L What can people do…?] to me [Ps. 118:6].”
7 Remember your leaders who ·taught [proclaimed; spoke] God’s ·message [word] to you. ·Remember [Consider; Reflect on] ·how they lived and died [or the outcome/result of their way of life], and ·copy [imitate] their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
9 Do not let all kinds of strange teachings ·lead you into the wrong way [take you off course; lead you astray]. ·Your hearts should be strengthened by [or Inner strength comes from] God’s grace, not by obeying rules about foods [C referring to Jewish dietary laws; Lev. 11; Mark 7:19; Acts 10; Col. 2:16], which ·do not help [or have never benefited] those who ·obey [observe; live by] them.
10 We have a ·sacrifice [L altar], but the priests who serve in the ·Holy Tent [T Tabernacle] ·cannot [L have no authority/right to] eat from it. 11 The high priest carries the blood of animals into the ·Most Holy Place [sanctuary; L holy things; T Holy of Holies] where he offers this blood for sins. But the bodies of the animals are burned outside the camp [Lev. 6:11]. 12 So Jesus also suffered outside the ·city [L gate] to ·make his people holy [sanctify the people] ·with [through] his own blood. 13 So let us go to Jesus outside the camp, ·holding on as he did when we are abused [L bearing the abuse/humiliation he bore].
14 [L For] Here on earth we do not have a city that ·lasts forever [endures], but we are ·looking for [seeking] the city that ·we will have in the future [is to come]. 15 So through Jesus let us ·always [continuously] offer to God our sacrifice of praise, ·coming from [L which is the fruit of] lips that ·speak [profess; acknowledge] his name. 16 Do not ·forget [neglect] to do good to others, and share with them, because such sacrifices please God.
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