Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Scorn and Disgrace, Gall and Vinegar

Psalm 69

Covenant of Circumcision

17 When Abram was 99 years old, Adonai appeared to Abram, and He said to him, “I am El Shaddai. Continually walk before Me and you will be blameless. ² My heart’s desire is to make My covenant between Me and you, and then I will multiply you exceedingly much.”

³ Abram fell on his face, and God spoke with him, saying, ⁴ “For My part, because My covenant is with you, you will be the father of a multitude of nations. ⁵ No longer will your name be Abram, but your name will be Abraham, because I make you the father of a multitude of nations. ⁶ Yes, I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings will come forth from you. ⁷ Yes, I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, in order to be your God and your seed’s God after you. ⁸ I will give to you and to your seed after you the land where you are an outsider—the whole land of Canaan—as an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”

⁹ God also said to Abraham, “As for you, My covenant you must keep, you and your seed after you throughout their generations. ¹⁰ This is My covenant that you must keep between Me and you and your seed after you: all your males must be circumcised. ¹¹ You must be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and this will become a sign of the covenant between Me and you. ¹² Also your eight-day-olds must be circumcised, every male, throughout your generations, including a house-born slave or a slave bought with money from any foreigner who is not of your seed. ¹³ Your house-born slave and your purchased slave must surely be circumcised. So My covenant will be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

Abraham Set Right by Faith

4 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? ² For if Abraham was set right by works, he has something to boast about—but not before God. ³ For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” ^{[a] 4} Now to the one who works, the pay is not credited as a gift, but as what is due. ⁵ But to the one who does not work, but trusts in Him who justifies the ungodly, his trust is credited as righteousness— ⁶ just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

⁷ “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered.

⁸ Blessed is the man whose sin Adonai will never count against him.”^[b]

⁹ Is this blessing then only on the circumcised, or also on the uncircumcised? For we say, “trust was credited to Abraham as righteousness.”^[c]

¹⁰ In what state then was it credited? While circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised! ¹¹ And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness of the trust he had while he was uncircumcised, so he might be the father of all who are trusting while uncircumcised—that righteousness might be credited to them as well. ¹² Also he is the father of the circumcised, to those not only circumcised but also walking in the footsteps of the trust of our father Abraham before his circumcision.^[d]