Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
11 Teach me your ways, O Lord,
so that I may walk in your truth;
let me worship your name
with an undivided heart.[a]
12 I will praise you with all my heart,[b]
O Lord, my God,
and I will glorify your name forever.
13 Your kindness[c] toward me is great;
you have rescued me from the depths of the netherworld.
14 Arrogant men are rising up against me, O God;
a violent mob seeks my life;
they do not keep you before their eyes.[d]
15 But you, O Lord, are a merciful and compassionate God,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness and faithfulness.[e]
16 Turn to me and grant me your gracious favor;
endow your servant with strength
and rescue the child of your handmaid.[f]
17 Grant me a sign of your favor,[g]
so that those who hate me
may see it and be put to shame,
because you, O Lord,
have helped and comforted me.
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.
Letters to the Churches[a]
Chapter 2
To Ephesus.[b]1 “To the angel of the Church in Ephesus,[c] write:
“ ‘These are the words of the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks in the midst of the seven lampstands:
2 “ ‘ “I know your deeds, your hard work, and your endurance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, and how you have put to the test those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them to be impostors. 3 I am also aware of your perseverance and how you have toiled for my name without becoming weary.
4 “ ‘ “However, I have this complaint against you: you have lost the love you had at first. 5 Remember from where you have fallen. Repent and do as you did originally. Otherwise, unless you repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 Nonetheless, this may be said in your favor: you detest the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 “ ‘ “Whoever has ears should listen to what the Spirit says[d] to the Churches. To anyone who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God.” ’
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