Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Book II

Thirsting for God in trouble and exile.

For the Chief Musician. Maschil of the sons of Korah.

Prayer for deliverance.

24 And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and Jehovah had blessed Abraham in all things. ² And Abraham said unto his servant, the elder of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: ³ and I will make thee swear by Jehovah, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that thou wilt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: ⁴ but thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac. ⁵ And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? ⁶ And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. ⁷ Jehovah, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my nativity, and who spake unto me, and who sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he will send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife for my son from thence. ⁸ And if the woman be not willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath; only thou shalt not bring my son thither again. ⁹ And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning this matter.

¹⁰ And the servant took ten camels, of the camels of his master, and departed, ^[a]having all goodly things of his master’s in his hand: and he arose, and went to ^[b]Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor. ¹¹ And he made the camels to kneel down without the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time that women go out to draw water. ¹² And he said, O Jehovah, the God of my master Abraham, send me, I pray thee, good speed this day, and show kindness unto my master Abraham. ¹³ Behold, I am standing by the fountain of water; and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water: ¹⁴ and let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast showed kindness unto my master. ¹⁵ And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. ¹⁶ And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the fountain, and filled her pitcher, and came up. ¹⁷ And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Give me to drink, I pray thee, a little water from thy pitcher. ¹⁸ And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. ¹⁹ And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw for thy camels also, until they have done drinking. ²⁰ And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw, and drew for all his camels. ²¹ And the man looked stedfastly on her, holding his peace, to know whether Jehovah had made his journey prosperous or not.

¹⁷ But if thou bearest the name of a Jew, and restest upon the law, and gloriest in God, ¹⁸ and knowest ^[a]his will, and ^[b]approvest the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, ¹⁹ and art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them that are in darkness, ^20 [c]a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having in the law the form of knowledge and of the truth; ²¹ thou therefore that teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? ²² thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou rob temples? ²³ thou who gloriest in the law, through thy transgression of the law dishonorest thou God? ²⁴ For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you, ^[d]even as it is written. ²⁵ For circumcision indeed profiteth, if thou be a doer of the law: but if thou be a transgressor of the law, thy circumcision is become uncircumcision. ²⁶ If therefore the uncircumcision keep the ordinances of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be reckoned for circumcision? ²⁷ and shall not the uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who with the letter and circumcision art a transgressor of the law? ²⁸ For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh: ²⁹ but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.