Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 127
A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.
1 Except the Lord build the house,
those who build labor in vain;
except the Lord guards the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is in vain for you to rise up early,
to stay up late,
and to eat the bread of hard toil,
for He gives sleep to His beloved.
3 Look, children are a gift of the Lord,
and the fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 As arrows in the hand of a mighty warrior,
so are the children of one’s youth.
5 Happy is the man
who has his quiver full of them;
he shall not be ashamed
when he speaks with the enemies at the gate.
11 Then all the people who were at the gate, along with the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you do well in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem! 12 May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman.”
The Genealogy of David
13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. When they came together, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you without a redeemer. May he become famous in Israel! 15 He will be a comfort for your soul and support you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”
16 Then Naomi took the child, laid him on her lap, and became his nurse. 17 The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
15 For this reason He is the Mediator of a new covenant, since a death has occurred for the redemption of the sins that were committed under the first covenant, so that those who are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
16 For where there is a will, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 17 For a will has force after men are dead, since it has no force at all while the testator lives. 18 So not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. 19 For when Moses had taught every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book and all the people, 20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God has commanded you to keep.”[a] 21 Likewise he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the vessels of worship with blood. 22 And according to the law almost everything must be cleansed with blood; without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Christ’s Sacrifice Takes Away Sin
23 It was therefore necessary that the replicas of heavenly things be cleansed with these sacrifices, but that the heavenly things themselves be cleansed with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter holy places made with hands, which are patterned after the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.