Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 86[a]
A prayer of David.
86 Listen,[b] O Lord. Answer me.
For I am oppressed and needy.
2 Protect me,[c] for I am loyal.
You are my God; deliver your servant who trusts in you.
3 Have mercy on me,[d] O Lord,
for I cry out to you all day long.
4 Make your servant[e] glad,
for to you, O Lord, I pray.[f]
5 Certainly,[g] O Lord, you are kind[h] and forgiving,
and show great faithfulness to all who cry out to you.
6 O Lord, hear my prayer.
Pay attention to my plea for mercy.
7 In my time of trouble I cry out to you,
for you will answer me.
8 None can compare to you among the gods, O Lord.
Your exploits are incomparable.[i]
9 All the nations, whom you created,
will come and worship you,[j] O Lord.
They will honor your name.
10 For you are great and do amazing things.
You alone are God.
11 O Lord, teach me how you want me to live.[k]
Then I will obey your commands.[l]
Make me wholeheartedly committed to you.[m]
12 O Lord, my God, I will give you thanks with my whole heart.
I will honor your name continually.[n]
13 For you will extend your great loyal love to me,[o]
and will deliver my life[p] from the depths of Sheol.[q]
14 O God, arrogant men attack me;[r]
a gang[s] of ruthless men, who do not respect you, seek my life.[t]
15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful God.
You are patient[u] and demonstrate great loyal love and faithfulness.[v]
16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me.
Give your servant your strength.
Deliver this son of your female servant.[w]
17 Show me evidence of your favor.[x]
Then those who hate me will see it and be ashamed,[y]
for you, O Lord, will help me and comfort me.[z]
The Birth of Ishmael
16 Now Sarai,[a] Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children,[b] but she had an Egyptian servant[c] named Hagar.[d] 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Since[e] the Lord has prevented me from having children, please sleep with[f] my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.”[g] Abram did what[h] Sarai told him.
3 So after Abram had lived[i] in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram’s wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant,[j] to her husband to be his wife.[k] 4 He slept with[l] Hagar, and she became pregnant.[m] Once Hagar realized she was pregnant, she despised Sarai.[n] 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me![o] I gave my servant into your embrace,[p] but when she realized[q] that she was pregnant, she despised me.[r] May the Lord judge between you and me!”[s]
6 Abram said to Sarai, “Since your[t] servant is under your authority,[u] do to her whatever you think best.”[v] Then Sarai treated Hagar[w] harshly,[x] so she ran away from Sarai.[y]
7 The angel of the Lord[z] found Hagar near a spring of water in the wilderness—the spring that is along the road to Shur.[aa] 8 He said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She replied, “I’m running away from[ab] my mistress, Sarai.”
9 Then the angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit[ac] to her authority. 10 I will greatly multiply your descendants,” the angel of the Lord added,[ad] “so that they will be too numerous to count.”[ae] 11 Then the angel of the Lord said to her,
“You are now[af] pregnant
and are about to give birth[ag] to a son.
You are to name him Ishmael,[ah]
for the Lord has heard your painful groans.[ai]
12 He will be a wild donkey[aj] of a man.
He will be hostile to everyone,[ak]
and everyone will be hostile to him.[al]
He will live away from[am] his brothers.”
13 So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,”[an] for she said, “Here I have seen one who sees me!”[ao] 14 That is why the well was called[ap] Beer Lahai Roi.[aq] (It is located[ar] between Kadesh and Bered.)
Jesus and Little Children
15 Now people[a] were even bringing their babies[b] to him for him to touch.[c] But when the disciples saw it, they began to scold those who brought them.[d] 16 But Jesus called for the children,[e] saying, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of God[f] belongs to such as these.[g] 17 I tell you the truth,[h] whoever does not receive[i] the kingdom of God like a child[j] will never[k] enter it.”
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