Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
34 “I am the servant of Abraham,” he began. 35 “The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy.[a] The Lord[b] has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 36 My master’s wife Sarah bore a son to him[c] when she was old,[d] and my master[e] has given him everything he owns. 37 My master made me swear an oath. He said, ‘You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 38 but you must go to the family of my father and to my relatives to find[f] a wife for my son.’
42 When I came to the spring today, I prayed, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you have decided to make my journey successful,[a] may events unfold as follows:[b] 43 Here I am, standing by the spring.[c] When[d] the young woman goes out to draw water, I’ll say, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jug.” 44 Then she will reply to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too.” May that woman be the one whom the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’
45 “Before I finished praying in my heart,[e] along came Rebekah[f] with her water jug on her shoulder! She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 46 She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels water. 47 Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘The daughter of Bethuel the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to Nahor.’[g] I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 48 Then I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right path to find the granddaughter[h] of my master’s brother for his son. 49 Now, if you will show faithful love to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me as well, so that I may go on my way.”[i]
58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want[a] to go with this man?” She replied, “I want to go.”
59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, accompanied by her female attendant, with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 They blessed Rebekah with these words:[b]
“Our sister, may you become the mother[c] of thousands of ten thousands!
May your descendants possess the strongholds[d] of their enemies.”
61 Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with[e] the man. So Abraham’s servant[f] took Rebekah and left.
62 Now[g] Isaac came from[h] Beer Lahai Roi,[i] for[j] he was living in the Negev.[k] 63 He[l] went out to relax[m] in the field in the early evening.[n] Then he looked up[o] and saw that[p] there were camels approaching. 64 Rebekah looked up[q] and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel 65 and asked[r] Abraham’s servant,[s] “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied.[t] So she took her veil and covered herself.
66 The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. 67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah[u] into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her[v] as his wife and loved her.[w] So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.[x]
10 Listen, O princess.[a]
Observe and pay attention![b]
Forget your homeland[c] and your family.[d]
11 Then[e] the king will be attracted by[f] your beauty.
After all, he is your master. Submit[g] to him.[h]
12 Rich people from Tyre
will seek your favor by bringing a gift.[i]
13 The princess[j] looks absolutely magnificent,[k]
decked out in pearls and clothed in a brocade trimmed with gold.[l]
14 In embroidered robes she is escorted to the king.
Her attendants, the maidens of honor who follow her,
are led before you.[m]
15 They are bubbling with joy as they walk in procession
and enter the royal palace.[n]
16 Your[o] sons will carry on[p] the dynasty of your ancestors;[q]
you will make them princes throughout the land.
17 I will proclaim your greatness through the coming years,[r]
then the nations will praise you[s] forever.
The Arrival of the Lover
The Beloved about Her Lover:
8 Listen![a] My lover is approaching![b]
Look![c] Here he comes,
leaping over the mountains,
bounding over the hills!
9 My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag.[d]
Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the window,
peering through the lattice.
The Season of Love and the Song of the Turtledove
The Lover to His Beloved:
10 My lover spoke to me, saying:
“Arise, my darling;
My beautiful one, come away with me!
11 Look! The winter has passed,
the winter rains are over and gone.
12 Blossoms have appeared[e] in the land,
the time for pruning and singing[f] has come;
the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree has ripened its figs,
the vines have blossomed and give off their fragrance.
Arise, come away my darling;
my beautiful one, come away with me!”
15 For I don’t understand what I am doing. For I do not do what I want—instead, I do what I hate.[a] 16 But if I do what I don’t want, I agree that the law is good.[b] 17 But now it is no longer me doing it, but sin that lives in me. 18 For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it.[c] 19 For I do not do the good I want, but I do the very evil I do not want! 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer me doing it but sin that lives in me.
21 So, I find the law that when I want to do good, evil is present with me. 22 For I delight in the law of God in my inner being. 23 But I see a different law in my members waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be[d] to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then,[e] I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but[f] with my flesh I serve[g] the law of sin.
16 “To[a] what should I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces[b] who call out to one another,[c]
17 ‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance;[d]
we wailed in mourning,[e] yet you did not weep.’
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’[f] 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him,[g] a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors[h] and sinners!’[i] But wisdom is vindicated[j] by her deeds.”[k]
Jesus’ Invitation
25 At that time Jesus said,[a] “I praise[b] you, Father, Lord[c] of heaven and earth, because[d] you have hidden these things from the wise[e] and intelligent, and have revealed them to little children.[f] 26 Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will.[g] 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father.[h] No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son decides[i] to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke[j] on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.”
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