Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
34 He said, “I am the servant of Abraham. 35 The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become powerful. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys. 36 Sarah, the wife of my master, gave birth to a son when he was already old, and he has given all his possessions to him. 37 My master has made me swear an oath. He said, ‘You must not take a wife for my son from among the daughters of the Canaanites among whom we live. 38 You must go to the house of my father, to my kin, to take a wife for my son.’
42 “And so today I arrived at the well and said, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you are going to grant success to this journey I am making, 43 since I am standing near the well, grant that when a young woman comes out to draw water and to whom I say, “Give me a little water from your jar to drink,” 44 and she answers, “Drink some, and I will draw water for your camels,” this will be the wife that the Lord has chosen for the son of my master.’
45 “I had not even finished thinking this when Rebekah came out with a jug on her shoulder. She went to the well and drew water. When I said to her, ‘Please give me some to drink,’ 46 she immediately lowered the jug and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels water to drink as well.’ I drank and she even gave my camels water to drink.
47 “I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’
“She answered, ‘I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah who bore a son to Nahor.’
“I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 48 Then I knelt and bowed down to the Lord and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had guided me along the right path to find the daughter of the brother of my master to be the wife of my master’s son. 49 Now, if you intend to act kindly and loyally toward my master, let me know. If not, let me know as well, so that I may search elsewhere.”
58 So they called Rebekah and said to her, “Do you wish to leave with this man?”
She answered, “I do.”
59 They therefore allowed Rebekah and her nurse to leave with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 They blessed Rebekah and told her,
“May you, our sister,
become thousands upon thousands,
and may your descendants conquer
the gates of their enemies.”
61 Thus, Rebekah and her nurse got up, mounted their camels, and followed the servant. He took Rebekah with him and left.
62 Meanwhile Isaac was returning from the well of Beer-lahai-roi and was dwelling in the territory of the Negeb. 63 Isaac went out toward evening. He was looking out over the countryside when he saw camels arriving. 64 Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac, and she got down off her camel. 65 She said to the servant, “Who is that man who is coming through the fields toward us?”
The servant answered, “It is my master.”
She took her veil[a] and covered herself. 66 The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. 67 Isaac then brought Rebekah into the tent that had been his mother’s. He married Rebekah and loved her. So Isaac found comfort after the death of his mother.
10 Daughters of kings[a] are among your women in waiting;
at your right hand is your queen
adorned in gold of Ophir.
11 My daughter, listen carefully to my words
and follow them diligently.
Forget your people and your father’s house;[b]
12 then the king will desire your beauty.
Since he is your lord,
13 bow down before him.
The Daughter of Tyre[c] will bring you gifts,
people of wealth will seek your favor.
14 Within the palace the king’s daughter is adorned
in robes threaded with gold.
15 In embroidered garments she is led to the king,
followed by her virgin companions,
who are also led to you.,[d]
16 They are brought in with joy and gladness
as they enter the palace of the king.
17 Your[e] sons will take the place of your ancestors;
you will make them princes in all the earth.
Second Poem[a]
Let Me See You
Bride:
8 Hark! I hear the voice of my beloved.
Look, here he comes,
leaping across the mountains[b]
bounding over the hills.
9 My beloved is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
Look where he stands
behind our wall,
peering in through the windows,
gazing through the lattice.
10 My beloved speaks,
and he says to me:
“Arise, my beloved,
my fair one, and come!
11 [c]For see, the winter is past,
the rains are over and gone.
12 The flowers appear in the countryside;
the season of joyful songs has arrived,
and the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth its figs
and the blossoms on the vine give forth their fragrance.
Arise, my beloved,
my fair one, and come!”
15 I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want; rather, I do what I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, then I agree that the Law is good.[a] 17 This indicates that it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot do what is good. 19 For I do not do the good I desire; rather, it is the evil I do not desire that I end up doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not desire, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
21 I have thus discovered this principle: when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. 22 In my innermost self, I delight in the Law of God, 23 but I perceive in the members of my body another law at war with the Law that I cherish in my mind. Thus, I am made captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body destined for death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then, with my mind I am a slave to the Law of God, but with my flesh to the law of sin.
16 Indecisive Children.[a]“To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another:
17 ‘We played the flute for you,
but you would not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you refused to mourn.’
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! He is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ Yet wisdom is proved right by her actions.”
25 The Self-Revelation of Jesus.[a] At that time, Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned and have revealed them to children. 26 Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
27 “All things have been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.
28 The Gentle Mastery of Christ.[b]“Come to me, all you who are weary and overburdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
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