Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Bride
8 “Listen! My beloved!
Behold, he is coming,
Leaping (A)on the mountains,
Jumping on the hills!
9 My beloved is like a (B)gazelle or a (C)young [a]stag.
Behold, he is standing behind our wall,
He is looking through the windows,
He is peering (D)through the lattice.
10 “My beloved responded and said to me,
‘(E)Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along.
11 For behold, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
12 The blossoms have already appeared in the land;
The time has arrived for [b]pruning the vines,
And the voice of the (F)turtledove has been heard in our land.
13 The (G)fig tree has ripened its fruit,
And the (H)vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance.
Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along!’”
The Stolen Blessing
30 Now it came about, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had hardly gone out from the presence of his father Isaac, that his brother Esau came in from his hunting. 31 Then he also made a delicious meal, and brought it to his father; and he said to his father, “(A)Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that [a](B)you may bless me.” 32 His father Isaac said to him, “(C)Who are you?” And he said, “I am your son, (D)your firstborn, Esau.” 33 Then Isaac [b]trembled violently, and said, “(E)Who then was he who hunted game and brought it to me, so that I ate from all of it before you came, and blessed him? (F)Yes, and he shall be blessed.” 34 When Esau heard the words of his father, (G)he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me, me as well, my father!” 35 And he said, “(H)Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing.” 36 Then Esau said, “[c]Is he not rightly named [d](I)Jacob, for he has betrayed me these two times? He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” 37 But Isaac replied to Esau, “Behold, I have made him (J)your master, and I have given to him all his relatives [e]as servants; and with grain and new wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?” 38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me, me as well, my father.” So Esau raised his voice and (K)wept.
39 Then (L)his father Isaac answered and said to him,
“Behold, [f](M)away from the [g]fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling,
And [h]away from the dew of heaven from above.
40 And by your sword you shall live,
And (N)you shall serve your brother;
But it shall come about (O)when you become restless,
That you will [i]break his yoke from your neck.”
41 So Esau (P)held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said [j]to himself, “(Q)The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42 Now when the words of her elder son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she sent word and called her younger son Jacob, and said to him, “Behold your brother Esau is consoling himself concerning you by planning to kill you. 43 Now then, my son, (R)obey my voice, and arise, [k]flee to (S)Haran, to my brother (T)Laban! 44 Stay with him (U)a few days, until your brother’s fury [l]subsides, 45 until your brother’s anger [m]against you subsides and he forgets (V)what you did to him. Then I will send word and get you from there. Why should I lose you both in one day?”
46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am tired of [n]living because of (W)the daughters of Heth; (X)if Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth like these from the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”
Unbelief and Its Consequences
18 For (A)the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who (B)suppress the truth [a]in unrighteousness, 19 because (C)that which is known about God is evident [b]within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For (D)since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, (E)being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not [c]honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became (F)futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 (G)Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and they (H)exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and [d]crawling creatures.
24 Therefore (I)God gave them up to vile impurity in the lusts of their hearts, so that their bodies would be (J)dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for [e](K)falsehood, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, (L)who is blessed [f]forever. Amen.
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