1 Samuel 17:21-58 NRSV-CI
[21] Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. [22] David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage, ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his brothers. [23] As he talked with them, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him. [24] All the Israelites, when they saw the man, fled from him and were very much afraid. [25] The Israelites said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. The king will greatly enrich the man who kills him, and will give him his daughter and make his family free in Israel.” [26] David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” [27] The people answered him in the same way, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.” [28] His eldest brother Eliab heard him talking to the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David. He said, “Why have you come down? With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart; for you have come down just to see the battle.” [29] David said, “What have I done now? It was only a question.” [30] He turned away from him toward another and spoke in the same way; and the people answered him again as before. [31] When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul; and he sent for him. [32] David said to Saul, “Let no one’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” [33] Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” [34] But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock, [35] I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. [36] Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.” [37] David said, “The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” So Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you!” [38] Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. [39] David strapped Saul’s sword over the armor, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them.” So David removed them. [40] Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd’s bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine. [41] The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. [42] When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. [43] The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. [44] The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field.” [45] But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. [46] This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, [47] and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give you into our hand.” [48] When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. [49] David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground. [50] So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine and killing him; there was no sword in David’s hand. [51] Then David ran and stood over the Philistine; he grasped his sword, drew it out of its sheath, and killed him; then he cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. [52] The troops of Israel and Judah rose up with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron. [53] The Israelites came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp. [54] David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent. [55] When Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.” [56] The king said, “Inquire whose son the stripling is.” [57] On David’s return from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand. [58] Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”
1 Samuel 18:14-30 NRSV-CI
[14] David had success in all his undertakings; for the Lord was with him. [15] When Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in awe of him. [16] But all Israel and Judah loved David; for it was he who marched out and came in leading them. [17] Then Saul said to David, “Here is my elder daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife; only be valiant for me and fight the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “I will not raise a hand against him; let the Philistines deal with him.” [18] David said to Saul, “Who am I and who are my kinsfolk, my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?” [19] But at the time when Saul’s daughter Merab should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife. [20] Now Saul’s daughter Michal loved David. Saul was told, and the thing pleased him. [21] Saul thought, “Let me give her to him that she may be a snare for him and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time, “You shall now be my son-in-law.” [22] Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David in private and say, ‘See, the king is delighted with you, and all his servants love you; now then, become the king’s son-in-law.’ ” [23] So Saul’s servants reported these words to David in private. And David said, “Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king’s son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man and of no repute?” [24] The servants of Saul told him, “This is what David said.” [25] Then Saul said, “Thus shall you say to David, ‘The king desires no marriage present except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, that he may be avenged on the king’s enemies.’ ” Now Saul planned to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. [26] When his servants told David these words, David was well pleased to be the king’s son-in-law. Before the time had expired, [27] David rose and went, along with his men, and killed one hundred of the Philistines; and David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. Saul gave him his daughter Michal as a wife. [28] But when Saul realized that the Lord was with David, and that Saul’s daughter Michal loved him, [29] Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul was David’s enemy from that time forward. [30] Then the commanders of the Philistines came out to battle; and as often as they came out, David had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that his fame became very great.
1 Samuel 19:4-24 NRSV-CI
[4] Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul, saying to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have been of good service to you; [5] for he took his life in his hand when he attacked the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced; why then will you sin against an innocent person by killing David without cause?” [6] Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan; Saul swore, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.” [7] So Jonathan called David and related all these things to him. Jonathan then brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before. [8] Again there was war, and David went out to fight the Philistines. He launched a heavy attack on them, so that they fled before him. [9] Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing music. [10] Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear; but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. David fled and escaped that night. [11] Saul sent messengers to David’s house to keep watch over him, planning to kill him in the morning. David’s wife Michal told him, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” [12] So Michal let David down through the window; he fled away and escaped. [13] Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed; she put a net of goats’ hair on its head, and covered it with the clothes. [14] When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” [15] Then Saul sent the messengers to see David for themselves. He said, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” [16] When the messengers came in, the idol was in the bed, with the covering of goats’ hair on its head. [17] Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this, and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go; why should I kill you?’ ” [18] Now David fled and escaped; he came to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. He and Samuel went and settled at Naioth. [19] Saul was told, “David is at Naioth in Ramah.” [20] Then Saul sent messengers to take David. When they saw the company of the prophets in a frenzy, with Samuel standing in charge of them, the spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also fell into a prophetic frenzy. [21] When Saul was told, he sent other messengers, and they also fell into a frenzy. Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also fell into a frenzy. [22] Then he himself went to Ramah. He came to the great well that is in Secu; he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “They are at Naioth in Ramah.” [23] He went there, toward Naioth in Ramah; and the spirit of God came upon him. As he was going, he fell into a prophetic frenzy, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. [24] He too stripped off his clothes, and he too fell into a frenzy before Samuel. He lay naked all that day and all that night. Therefore it is said, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
2 Samuel 3:12-18 NRSV-CI
[12] Abner sent messengers to David at Hebron, saying, “To whom does the land belong? Make your covenant with me, and I will give you my support to bring all Israel over to you.” [13] He said, “Good; I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require of you: you shall never appear in my presence unless you bring Saul’s daughter Michal when you come to see me.” [14] Then David sent messengers to Saul’s son Ishbaal, saying, “Give me my wife Michal, to whom I became engaged at the price of one hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” [15] Ishbaal sent and took her from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish. [16] But her husband went with her, weeping as he walked behind her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go back home!” So he went back. [17] Abner sent word to the elders of Israel, saying, “For some time past you have been seeking David as king over you. [18] Now then bring it about; for the Lord has promised David: Through my servant David I will save my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from all their enemies.”
2 Samuel 6:1-23 NRSV-CI
[1] David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. [2] David and all the people with him set out and went from Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned on the cherubim. [3] They carried the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart [4] with the ark of God; and Ahio went in front of the ark. [5] David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. [6] When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. [7] The anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God struck him there because he reached out his hand to the ark; and he died there beside the ark of God. [8] David was angry because the Lord had burst forth with an outburst upon Uzzah; so that place is called Perez-uzzah, to this day. [9] David was afraid of the Lord that day; he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come into my care?” [10] So David was unwilling to take the ark of the Lord into his care in the city of David; instead David took it to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. [11] The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months; and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household. [12] It was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing; [13] and when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. [14] David danced before the Lord with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod. [15] So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. [16] As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. [17] They brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and offerings of well-being before the Lord. [18] When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the offerings of well-being, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts, [19] and distributed food among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, to each a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins. Then all the people went back to their homes. [20] David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ maids, as any vulgar fellow might shamelessly uncover himself!” [21] David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me in place of your father and all his household, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord, that I have danced before the Lord. [22] I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in my own eyes; but by the maids of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor.” [23] And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.
Song of Solomon 5:1-16 NRSV-CI
[1] I come to my garden, my sister, my bride; I gather my myrrh with my spice, I eat my honeycomb with my honey, I drink my wine with my milk. Eat, friends, drink, and be drunk with love. [2] I slept, but my heart was awake. Listen! my beloved is knocking. “Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one; for my head is wet with dew, my locks with the drops of the night.” [3] I had put off my garment; how could I put it on again? I had bathed my feet; how could I soil them? [4] My beloved thrust his hand into the opening, and my inmost being yearned for him. [5] I arose to open to my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with liquid myrrh, upon the handles of the bolt. [6] I opened to my beloved, but my beloved had turned and was gone. My soul failed me when he spoke. I sought him, but did not find him; I called him, but he gave no answer. [7] Making their rounds in the city the sentinels found me; they beat me, they wounded me, they took away my mantle, those sentinels of the walls. [8] I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, tell him this: I am faint with love. [9] What is your beloved more than another beloved, O fairest among women? What is your beloved more than another beloved, that you thus adjure us? [10] My beloved is all radiant and ruddy, distinguished among ten thousand. [11] His head is the finest gold; his locks are wavy, black as a raven. [12] His eyes are like doves beside springs of water, bathed in milk, fitly set. [13] His cheeks are like beds of spices, yielding fragrance. His lips are lilies, distilling liquid myrrh. [14] His arms are rounded gold, set with jewels. His body is ivory work, encrusted with sapphires. [15] His legs are alabaster columns, set upon bases of gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as the cedars. [16] His speech is most sweet, and he is altogether desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
Genesis 1:12-31 NRSV-CI
[12] The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. [13] And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. [14] And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, [15] and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. [16] God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. [17] God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, [18] to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. [19] And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. [20] And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” [21] So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. [22] God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” [23] And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. [24] And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. [25] God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good. [26] Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” [27] So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. [28] God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” [29] God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. [30] And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. [31] God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Genesis 2:4-25 NRSV-CI
[4] These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, [5] when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; [6] but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground— [7] then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. [8] And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. [9] Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. [10] A river flows out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it divides and becomes four branches. [11] The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one that flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; [12] and the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. [13] The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one that flows around the whole land of Cush. [14] The name of the third river is Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. [15] The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. [16] And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; [17] but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” [18] Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” [19] So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. [20] The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. [21] So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. [22] And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. [23] Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken.” [24] Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh. [25] And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.
Matthew 19:3-11 NRSV-CI
[3] Some Pharisees came to him, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?” [4] He answered, “Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ [5] and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? [6] So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” [7] They said to him, “Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?” [8] He said to them, “It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. [9] And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another commits adultery.” [10] His disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” [11] But he said to them, “Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is given.
Proverbs 31:1-31 NRSV-CI
[1] The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him: [2] No, my son! No, son of my womb! No, son of my vows! [3] Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings. [4] It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to desire strong drink; [5] or else they will drink and forget what has been decreed, and will pervert the rights of all the afflicted. [6] Give strong drink to one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress; [7] let them drink and forget their poverty, and remember their misery no more. [8] Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute. [9] Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy. [10] A capable wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. [11] The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. [12] She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. [13] She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. [14] She is like the ships of the merchant, she brings her food from far away. [15] She rises while it is still night and provides food for her household and tasks for her servant-girls. [16] She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. [17] She girds herself with strength, and makes her arms strong. [18] She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. [19] She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. [20] She opens her hand to the poor, and reaches out her hands to the needy. [21] She is not afraid for her household when it snows, for all her household are clothed in crimson. [22] She makes herself coverings; her clothing is fine linen and purple. [23] Her husband is known in the city gates, taking his seat among the elders of the land. [24] She makes linen garments and sells them; she supplies the merchant with sashes. [25] Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. [26] She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. [27] She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. [28] Her children rise up and call her happy; her husband too, and he praises her: [29] “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” [30] Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. [31] Give her a share in the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the city gates.
Psalms 45:1-17 NRSV-CI
[1] My heart overflows with a goodly theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe. [2] You are the most handsome of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever. [3] Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your glory and majesty. [4] In your majesty ride on victoriously for the cause of truth and to defend the right; let your right hand teach you dread deeds. [5] Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; the peoples fall under you. [6] Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity; [7] you love righteousness and hate wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions; [8] your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad; [9] daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir. [10] Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear; forget your people and your father’s house, [11] and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him; [12] the people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts, the richest of the people [13] with all kinds of wealth. The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes; [14] in many-colored robes she is led to the king; behind her the virgins, her companions, follow. [15] With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king. [16] In the place of ancestors you, O king, shall have sons; you will make them princes in all the earth. [17] I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations; therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever.
Genesis 29:1-30 NRSV-CI
[1] Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the people of the east. [2] As he looked, he saw a well in the field and three flocks of sheep lying there beside it; for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well’s mouth was large, [3] and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well, and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well. [4] Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where do you come from?” They said, “We are from Haran.” [5] He said to them, “Do you know Laban son of Nahor?” They said, “We do.” [6] He said to them, “Is it well with him?” “Yes,” they replied, “and here is his daughter Rachel, coming with the sheep.” [7] He said, “Look, it is still broad daylight; it is not time for the animals to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go, pasture them.” [8] But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.” [9] While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep; for she kept them. [10] Now when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, and the sheep of his mother’s brother Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of his mother’s brother Laban. [11] Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and wept aloud. [12] And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s kinsman, and that he was Rebekah’s son; and she ran and told her father. [13] When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him; he embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things, [14] and Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh!” And he stayed with him a month. [15] Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” [16] Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. [17] Leah’s eyes were lovely, and Rachel was graceful and beautiful. [18] Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” [19] Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” [20] So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. [21] Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” [22] So Laban gathered together all the people of the place, and made a feast. [23] But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. [24] (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid.) [25] When morning came, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” [26] Laban said, “This is not done in our country—giving the younger before the firstborn. [27] Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.” [28] Jacob did so, and completed her week; then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife. [29] (Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her maid.) [30] So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. He served Laban for another seven years.
Mark 1:1-3 NRSV-CI
[1] The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. [2] As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; [3] the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’ ”
Isaiah 62:1-12 NRSV-CI
[1] For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her vindication shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning torch. [2] The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. [3] You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. [4] You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. [5] For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your builder marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. [6] Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted sentinels; all day and all night they shall never be silent. You who remind the Lord, take no rest, [7] and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it renowned throughout the earth. [8] The Lord has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: I will not again give your grain to be food for your enemies, and foreigners shall not drink the wine for which you have labored; [9] but those who garner it shall eat it and praise the Lord, and those who gather it shall drink it in my holy courts. [10] Go through, go through the gates, prepare the way for the people; build up, build up the highway, clear it of stones, lift up an ensign over the peoples. [11] The Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to daughter Zion, “See, your salvation comes; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.” [12] They shall be called, “The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord”; and you shall be called, “Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.”
Isaiah 40:1-5 NRSV-CI
[1] Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. [2] Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. [3] A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. [4] Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. [5] Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Zechariah 9:7-17 NRSV-CI
[7] I will take away its blood from its mouth, and its abominations from between its teeth; it too shall be a remnant for our God; it shall be like a clan in Judah, and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites. [8] Then I will encamp at my house as a guard, so that no one shall march to and fro; no oppressor shall again overrun them, for now I have seen with my own eyes. [9] Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. [10] He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. [11] As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. [12] Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double. [13] For I have bent Judah as my bow; I have made Ephraim its arrow. I will arouse your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and wield you like a warrior’s sword. [14] Then the Lord will appear over them, and his arrow go forth like lightning; the Lord God will sound the trumpet and march forth in the whirlwinds of the south. [15] The Lord of hosts will protect them, and they shall devour and tread down the slingers; they shall drink their blood like wine, and be full like a bowl, drenched like the corners of the altar. [16] On that day the Lord their God will save them for they are the flock of his people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land. [17] For what goodness and beauty are his! Grain shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the young women.