Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
III
11 Teach me, Lord, your way
that I may walk in your truth,(A)
single-hearted and revering your name.
12 I will praise you with all my heart,
glorify your name forever, Lord my God.
13 Your mercy to me is great;
you have rescued me from the depths of Sheol.(B)
14 O God, the arrogant have risen against me;
a ruthless band has sought my life;
to you they pay no heed.
15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in mercy and truth.(C)
16 Turn to me, be gracious to me;
give your strength to your servant;
save the son of your handmaid.(D)
17 Give me a sign of your favor:
make my enemies see, to their confusion,
that you, Lord, help and comfort me.
Chapter 16
Birth of Ishmael.[a] 1 Abram’s wife Sarai had borne him no children. Now she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar.(A) 2 Sarai said to Abram: “The Lord has kept me from bearing children. Have intercourse with my maid; perhaps I will have sons through her.” Abram obeyed Sarai.[b](B) 3 Thus, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, his wife Sarai took her maid, Hagar the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. 4 He had intercourse with her, and she became pregnant. As soon as Hagar knew she was pregnant, her mistress lost stature in her eyes.[c](C) 5 (D)So Sarai said to Abram: “This outrage against me is your fault. I myself gave my maid to your embrace; but ever since she knew she was pregnant, I have lost stature in her eyes. May the Lord decide between you and me!” 6 Abram told Sarai: “Your maid is in your power. Do to her what you regard as right.” Sarai then mistreated her so much that Hagar ran away from her.
7 The Lord’s angel[d] found her by a spring in the wilderness, the spring on the road to Shur,(E) 8 and he asked, “Hagar, maid of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She answered, “I am running away from my mistress, Sarai.” 9 But the Lord’s angel told her: “Go back to your mistress and submit to her authority. 10 I will make your descendants so numerous,” added the Lord’s angel, “that they will be too many to count.”(F) 11 Then the Lord’s angel said to her:
“You are now pregnant and shall bear a son;
you shall name him Ishmael,[e]
For the Lord has heeded your affliction.
12 He shall be a wild ass of a man,
his hand against everyone,
and everyone’s hand against him;
Alongside[f] all his kindred
shall he encamp.”(G)
13 To the Lord who spoke to her she gave a name, saying, “You are God who sees me”;[g] she meant, “Have I really seen God and remained alive after he saw me?”(H) 14 That is why the well is called Beer-lahai-roi.[h] It is between Kadesh and Bered.
15 Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram named the son whom Hagar bore him Ishmael.(I)
Chapter 2
To Ephesus. 1 [a]“To the angel of the church[b] in Ephesus,[c] write this:
“‘The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks in the midst of the seven gold lampstands says this: 2 “I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate the wicked; you have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not, and discovered that they are impostors.[d] 3 Moreover, you have endurance and have suffered for my name, and you have not grown weary. 4 Yet I hold this against you: you have lost the love you had at first. 5 Realize how far you have fallen. Repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 But you have this in your favor: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans,[e] which I also hate.
7 “‘“Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the victor[f] I will give the right to eat from the tree of life that is in the garden of God.”’(A)
To Smyrna.[g]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.