Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
BOOK 2
Thirsting for God in Trouble and Exile.
For the choir director. A [a]Maskil of the sons of Korah.
42 As the deer [b]pants for the water brooks,
So my soul [c](A)pants for You, O God.
2 My soul (B)thirsts for God, for the (C)living God;
When shall I come and [d](D)appear before God?
3 My (E)tears have been my food day and night,
While they (F)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember and I (G)pour out my soul within me.
For I (H)used to go along with the throng and [e]lead them in procession to the house of God,
With the voice of (I)joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.
5 (J)Why are you [f](K)in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become (L)disturbed within me?
[g](M)Hope in God, for I shall [h]again praise [i]Him
For the [j](N)help of His presence.
6 O my God, my soul is [k]in despair within me;
Therefore I (O)remember You from (P)the land of the Jordan
And the [l]peaks of (Q)Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;
All Your (R)breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.
8 The Lord will (S)command His lovingkindness in the daytime;
And His song will be with me (T)in the night,
A prayer to (U)the God of my life.
9 I will say to God (V)my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go (W)mourning [m]because of the (X)oppression of the enemy?”
10 As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me,
While they (Y)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
11 (Z)Why are you [n]in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
[o]Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him,
The [p]help of my countenance and my God.
Prayer for Deliverance.
43 (A)Vindicate me, O God, and (B)plead my case against an ungodly nation;
[a]O deliver me from (C)the deceitful and unjust man!
2 For You are the (D)God of my strength; why have You (E)rejected me?
Why do I go (F)mourning [b]because of the oppression of the enemy?
A Bride for Isaac
24 Now (A)Abraham was old, advanced in age; and the Lord had (B)blessed Abraham in every way. 2 Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had (C)charge of all that he owned, “(D)Please place your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you swear by the Lord, (E)the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you (F)shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of (G)the Canaanites, among whom I live, 4 but you will go to (H)my country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” 5 The servant said to him, “Suppose the woman is not willing to follow me to this land; should I take your son back to the land from where you came?” 6 Then Abraham said to him, “(I)Beware that you do not take my son back there! 7 (J)The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, ‘(K)To your [a]descendants I will give this land,’ He will send (L)His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. 8 But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will (M)be free from this my oath; (N)only do not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant (O)placed his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.
10 Then the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and set out with a variety of (P)good things of his master’s in his hand; and he arose and went to [b]Mesopotamia, to (Q)the city of Nahor. 11 He made the camels kneel down outside the city by (R)the well of water at evening time, (S)the time when women go out to draw water. 12 He said, “(T)O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, please [c](U)grant me success today, and show lovingkindness to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, (V)I am standing by the [d]spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water; 14 now may it be that the girl to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and [e]who answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’—may she be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown lovingkindness to my master.”
Rebekah Is Chosen
15 (W)Before he had finished speaking, behold, (X)Rebekah who was born to Bethuel the son of (Y)Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder. 16 The girl was (Z)very beautiful, a virgin, and no man had [f]had relations with her; and she went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. 17 Then the servant ran to meet her, and said, “(AA)Please let me drink a little water from your jar.” 18 (AB)She said, “Drink, my lord”; and she quickly lowered her jar to her hand, and gave him a drink. 19 Now when she had finished giving him a drink, (AC)she said, “I will draw also for your camels until they have finished drinking.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, and ran back to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels. 21 (AD)Meanwhile, the man was gazing at her [g]in silence, to know whether the Lord had made his journey successful or not.
The Jew Is Condemned by the Law
17 But if you bear the name “Jew” and (A)rely [a]upon the Law and boast in God, 18 and know His will and [b](B)approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, 19 and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 a [c]corrector of the foolish, a teacher of [d]the immature, having in the Law (C)the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, 21 you, therefore, (D)who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who [e]preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? 22 You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you (E)rob temples? 23 You who (F)boast [f]in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? 24 For “(G)the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles (H)because of you,” just as it is written.
25 For indeed circumcision is of value if you (I)practice [g]the Law; but if you are a transgressor [h]of the Law, (J)your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 (K)So if (L)the [i]uncircumcised man (M)keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27 And (N)he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not (O)judge you who [j]though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor [k]of the Law? 28 For (P)he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 29 But (Q)he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and (R)circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the (S)Spirit, not by the letter; (T)and his praise is not from men, but from God.
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