Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Lord Exalts the Humble.

²⁸ Then the girl ran and told her mother’s household what had happened. ²⁹ Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban; and Laban ran out to the man at the well. ³⁰ When he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and when he heard Rebekah his sister, saying, “The man said this to me,” he went to Eliezer and found him standing by the camels at the spring. ³¹ And Laban said, “Come in, blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside since I have made the house ready and have prepared a place for the camels?” ³² So the man came into the house, and Laban unloaded his camels and gave them straw and feed, and [he gave] water to [Eliezer to] wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. ³³ But when food was set before him, he said, “I will not eat until I have stated my business.” And Laban said, “Speak on.” ³⁴ So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. ³⁵ The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great (wealthy, powerful); He has given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and servants and maids, and camels and donkeys. ³⁶ Now Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was in her old age, and he has given everything that he has to him. ³⁷ My master made me swear [an oath], saying, ‘You must not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live; ³⁸ but you shall [instead] go to my father’s house and to my family and take a wife for my son [Isaac].’ ³⁹ Then I said to my master, ‘But suppose the woman will not follow me [back to this land].’ ⁴⁰ He said to me, ‘The Lord, before whom I walk [habitually and obediently], will send His angel with you to make your journey successful, and you will take a wife for my son from my relatives and from my father’s house; ⁴¹ then you will be free of my oath, when you come to my relatives; and if they do not give her to you, you will [also] be free of my oath.’

⁴² “I came today to the spring, and said, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if now You will make my journey on which I go successful;

¹⁶ So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. ¹⁷ The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,^(A)

²⁰ Then He rolled up the scroll [having stopped in the middle of the verse], gave it back to the attendant and sat down [to teach]; and the eyes of all those in the synagogue were [attentively] fixed on Him. ²¹ He began speaking to them: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing and in your presence.” ²² And [as He continued on] they all were speaking well of Him, and were in awe and were wondering about the words of grace which were coming from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” ²³ So He said to them, “You will no doubt quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal Yourself! Whatever [miracles] that we heard were done [by You] in Capernaum, do here in Your hometown as well.’” ²⁴ Then He said, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. ²⁵ But in truth I say to you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was closed up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; ²⁶ and yet Elijah was not sent [by the Lord] to a single one of them, but only to Zarephath in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.^{(C) 27} And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and not one of them was cleansed [by being healed] except Naaman the Syrian.”^{(D) 28} As they heard these things [about God’s grace to these two Gentiles], the people in the synagogue were filled with a great rage; ²⁹ and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the crest of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to hurl Him down the cliff. ³⁰ But passing [miraculously] through the crowd, He went on His way.