Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Yahweh’s Covenant with Abram
15 After these things the word of Yahweh came[a] to Abram in a vision, saying: “Do not be afraid, Abram; I am your shield, and your reward shall be very great.” 2 Then[b] Abram said, “O Yahweh, my Lord, what will you give me? I continue to be[c] childless, and my heir[d] is Eliezer of Damascus.” 3 And Abram said, “Look, you have not given me a descendant, and here, a member of my household[e] is my heir.”[f] 4 And behold, the word of Yahweh came to him saying, “This person will not be your heir,[g] but your own son will be your heir.”[h] 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward the heavens and count the stars if you are able to count them.” And he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed in Yahweh, and he reckoned it to him as righteousness. 7 And he said to him, “I am Yahweh, who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give this land to you, to possess it.” 8 And he said, “O Yahweh God, how shall I know that I will possess it?” 9 And he said to him, “Take for me a three-year-old heifer, and a three-year-old female goat, and a three-year-old ram, and a turtledove and a young pigeon.” 10 And he took for him all these and cut them in pieces down the middle. And he put each piece opposite the other,[i] but the birds he did not cut. 11 And the birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12 And it happened, as the sun went down,[j] then a deep sleep fell upon Abram and, behold, a great terrifying darkness fell upon him.
17 And after the sun had gone down and it was dusk, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passed between those half pieces. 18 On that day Yahweh made[a] a covenant with Abram saying, “To your offspring I will give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates river,
A Declaration of Trust
Of David.[a]
27 Yahweh is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
Yahweh is the refuge of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers drew near against me to eat my flesh—
my adversaries and my enemies who drew near to me—
they themselves stumbled and fell.
3 Though an army encamp against me,
my heart will not fear.
Though war arise against me,
even in this I will remain confident.
4 One thing I have asked from Yahweh;
it I will seek:
that I may dwell in the house[b] of Yahweh all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of Yahweh,
and to consider[c] his temple.
5 Because he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble.
He will conceal me in the hiding place of his tent.
He will set me high upon a rock.
6 And now my head will be high over my enemies round about me.
And I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy.
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to Yahweh.
7 Hear, O Yahweh, my voice when I call,
and be gracious to me and answer me.
8 On your behalf my heart says, “Seek my face.”
Your face, O Yahweh, I do seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me;
do not turn your servant away in anger.
You have been my help; do not abandon nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
10 If my father or my mother forsake me,
then Yahweh will receive me.
11 Teach me, O Yahweh, your way,
and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
12 Do not give me over to the desire of my enemies,
because false witnesses have arisen against me,
and each breathing out violence.[d]
13 Surely[e] I believe that I will see the goodness of Yahweh
in the land of the living.
14 Wait for Yahweh.
Be strong and let your heart show strength,
and wait for Yahweh.
17 Become fellow imitators of me, brothers, and observe those who walk in this way, just as you have us as an example. 18 For many live, of whom I spoke about to you many times, but now speak about even weeping, as the enemies of the cross of Christ, 19 whose end is destruction, whose God is the stomach, and whose glory is in their shame, the ones who think on earthly things. 20 For our commonwealth exists in heaven, from which also we eagerly await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our humble body to be conformed to his glorious body, in accordance with the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
Appeal for Unity
4 So then, my beloved and greatly desired brothers, my joy and crown, thus stand firm in the Lord, dear friends.
The Lament over Jerusalem
31 At that same hour some Pharisees came up and[a] said to him, “Go out and depart from here, because Herod wants to kill you!” 32 And he said to them, “Go and[b] tell that fox, ‘Behold, I am expelling demons and performing healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will complete my work.’[c] 33 Nevertheless, it is necessary for me to be on the way today and tomorrow and on the next day, because it is not possible for a prophet to perish outside Jerusalem.
34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How many times I wanted to gather your children together the way[d] a hen gathers[e] her own brood under her[f] wings, and you were not willing! 35 Behold, your house has been left to you! And I tell you, you will never see me until the time[g] will come when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”[h]
The Transfiguration
28 Now it happened that about eight days after these words, he took along Peter and John and James and[a] went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face became different, and his clothing became white, gleaming like lightning.[b] 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, who were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and[c] were speaking about his departure which he was about to fulfill[d] in Jerusalem.
32 Now Peter and those with him were very sleepy,[e] but when they[f] became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men who were standing with him. 33 And it happened that as they were going away from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. And let us make three shelters, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah,” not knowing what he was saying. 34 And while[g] he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered into the cloud. 35 And a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him!” 36 And after the voice had occurred, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.
A Demon-possessed Boy Healed
37 Now it happened that on the next day, when[a] they had come down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. 38 And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, saying, “Teacher, I beg you to look with concern on my son, because he is my only son! 39 And behold, a spirit seizes him and suddenly he screams, and it convulses him with foam and rarely withdraws from him, battering him severely. 40 And I begged your disciples that they would expel it, and they were not able to do so.” 41 So Jesus answered and[b] said, “O unbelieving and perverted generation! How long[c] will I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here!” 42 And while[d] he was still approaching, the demon threw him down and convulsed him.[e] But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43 And they were all astounded at the impressiveness of God.
Jesus Predicts His Suffering
But while they[f] were all marveling at all the things that he was doing, he said to his disciples,
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