Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A song of David for the day of remembrance.[a]
38 Lord, don’t criticize me when you are angry.
Don’t discipline me in anger.
2 You have hurt me.
You punished me and hurt me deeply.
3 You punished me severely, so my whole body is sore.
I sinned, and now all my bones hurt.
4 My guilt is like a heavy burden.
I am sinking beneath its weight.
5 I did a foolish thing,
and now I have infected sores that stink.
6 I am bent and bowed down.
I am depressed all day long.
7 I am burning with fever,
and my whole body hurts.
8 I hurt so much I cannot feel anything.
My pounding heart makes me scream!
9 My Lord, you heard my groaning.
You can hear my sighs.
10 My heart is pounding.
My strength is gone, and I am going blind.[b]
11 Because of my sickness,
my friends and neighbors will not visit me;
my family will not come near me.
12 My enemies say bad things about me.
They are spreading lies and rumors.
They talk about me all the time.
13 But I am like a deaf man and cannot hear.
I am like someone who cannot speak.
14 I am like those who cannot hear what people are saying about them.
I cannot answer to prove my enemies wrong.
15 Lord, you must defend me.
Lord my God, you must speak for me.
16 That’s why I prayed, “Don’t let my enemies smile at my pain.
Full of pride, they will laugh if I stumble and fall.”
17 I know I am guilty of doing wrong.
I cannot forget my pain.
18 Lord, I told you about the evil I have done.
I am sorry for my sin.
19 But my enemies are alive and healthy,
and they have told many lies.
20 I did nothing but good,
and they paid me back with evil.
I try to do what is right,
but that only makes them turn against me.
21 Lord, don’t leave me.
My God, stay close to me.
22 Come quickly and help me.
My Lord, you are the one who saves me.
Jacob Meets Esau
33 Jacob looked and saw Esau coming with 400 men. Jacob divided his family into four groups. Leah and her children were in one group, Rachel and Joseph were in one group, and the two maids and their children were in two groups. 2 Jacob put the maids with their children first. Then he put Leah and her children behind them, and he put Rachel and Joseph in the last place.
3 Jacob himself went out before them. While he was walking toward his brother Esau, he bowed down to the ground seven times.
4 When Esau saw Jacob, he ran to meet him. He put his arms around Jacob, hugged his neck, and kissed him. Then they both cried. 5 Esau looked up and saw the women and children. He said, “Who are all these people with you?”
Jacob answered, “These are the children that God gave me. God has been good to me.”
6 Then the two maids and the children with them went to Esau. They bowed down before him. 7 Then Leah and the children with her went to Esau and bowed down. And then Rachel and Joseph went to him and bowed down.
8 Esau said, “Who were all those people I saw while I was coming here? And what were all those animals for?”
Jacob answered, “These are my gifts to you so that you might accept me.”
9 But Esau said, “You don’t have to give me gifts, brother. I have enough for myself.”
10 Jacob said, “No, I beg you! If you really accept me, please accept the gifts I give you. I am very happy to see your face again. It is like seeing the face of God. I am very happy to see that you accept me. 11 So I beg you to also accept the gifts I give you. God has been very good to me. I have more than I need.” Because Jacob begged Esau to take the gifts, he accepted them.
12 Then Esau said, “Now you can continue your journey. I will go with you.”
13 But Jacob said to him, “You know that my children are weak. And I must be careful with my flocks and their young animals. If I force them to walk too far in one day, all the animals will die. 14 So you go on ahead. I will follow you slowly. I will go slowly enough for the cattle and other animals to be safe and so that my children will not get too tired. I will meet you in Seir.”
15 So Esau said, “Then I will leave some of my men to help you.”
But Jacob said, “That is very kind of you, but there is no need to do that.” 16 So that day Esau started on his trip back to Seir. 17 But Jacob went to Succoth.[a] There he built a house for himself and small barns for his cattle. That is why the place was named Succoth.
Being Under Authority
2 I praise you because you remember me in all things. You follow closely the teachings I gave you. 3 But I want you to understand this: The head of every man is Christ. And the head of a woman is the man.[a] And the head of Christ is God.
4 Every man who prophesies or prays with his head covered brings shame to his head. 5 But every woman who prays or prophesies should have her head covered. If her head is not covered, she brings shame to her head. Then she is the same as a woman who has her head shaved. 6 If a woman does not cover her head, it is the same as cutting off all her hair. But it is shameful for a woman to cut off her hair or to shave her head. So she should cover her head.
7 But a man should not cover his head, because he is made like God and is God’s glory. But woman is man’s glory. 8 Man did not come from woman. Woman came from man. 9 And man was not made for woman. Woman was made for man. 10 So that is why a woman should have her head covered with something that shows she is under authority.[b] Also, she should do this because of the angels.
11 But in the Lord the woman needs the man, and the man needs the woman. 12 This is true because woman came from man, but also man is born from woman. Really, everything comes from God.
13 Decide this for yourselves: Is it right for a woman to pray to God without something on her head? 14 Even nature itself teaches you that wearing long hair is shameful for a man. 15 But wearing long hair is a woman’s honor. Long hair is given to the woman to cover her head. 16 Some people may still want to argue about this. But we and the churches of God don’t accept what those people are doing.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International