GENESIS 30:1- 31:16
MATTHEW 10:1- 23
PSALM 12:1- 8
PROVERBS 3:13- 15
When Rachel saw that she wasn't having any children, she became jealous of her sister. "Give me children, or I'll die!" she exclaimed to Jacob. 2 Jacob flew into a rage. "Am I God?" he asked. "He is the only one able to give you children!" 3 Then Rachel told him, "Sleep with my servant, Bilhah, and she will bear children for me." 4 So Rachel gave him Bilhah to be his wife, and Jacob slept with her. 5 Bilhah became pregnant and presented him with a son. 6 Rachel named him Dan, for she said, "God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me a son." 7 Then Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son. 8 Rachel named him Naphtali, for she said, "I have had an intense struggle with my sister, and I am winning!" 9 Meanwhile, Leah realized that she wasn't getting pregnant anymore, so she gave her servant, Zilpah, to Jacob to be his wife. 10 Soon Zilpah presented him with another son. 11 Leah named him Gad, for she said, "How fortunate I am!" 12 Then Zilpah produced a second son, 13 and Leah named him Asher, for she said, "What joy is mine! The other women will consider me happy indeed!" 14 One day during the wheat harvest, Reuben found some mandrakes growing in a field and brought the roots to his mother, Leah. Rachel begged Leah to give some of them to her. 15 But Leah angrily replied, "Wasn't it enough that you stole my husband? Now will you steal my son's mandrake roots, too?" Rachel said, "I will let him sleep with you tonight in exchange for the mandrake roots." 16 So that evening, as Jacob was coming home from the fields, Leah went out to meet him. "You must sleep with me tonight!" she said. "I have paid for you with some mandrake roots my son has found." So Jacob slept with her. 17 And God answered her prayers. She became pregnant again and gave birth to her fifth son. 18 She named him Issachar, for she said, "God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband as a wife." 19 Then she became pregnant again and had a sixth son. 20 She named him Zebulun, for she said, "God has given me good gifts for my husband. Now he will honor me, for I have given him six sons." 21 Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah. 22 Then God remembered Rachel's plight and answered her prayers by giving her a child. 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. "God has removed my shame," she said. 24 And she named him Joseph, for she said, "May the LORD give me yet another son." 25 Soon after Joseph was born to Rachel, Jacob said to Laban, "I want to go back home. 26 Let me take my wives and children, for I have earned them from you, and let me be on my way. You know I have fully paid for them with my service to you." 27 "Please don't leave me," Laban replied, "for I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because you are here. 28 How much do I owe you? Whatever it is, I'll pay it." 29 Jacob replied, "You know how faithfully I've served you through these many years, and how your flocks and herds have grown. 30 You had little indeed before I came, and your wealth has increased enormously. The LORD has blessed you from everything I do! But now, what about me? When should I provide for my own family?" 31 "What wages do you want?" Laban asked again. Jacob replied, "Don't give me anything at all. Just do one thing, and I'll go back to work for you. 32 Let me go out among your flocks today and remove all the sheep and goats that are speckled or spotted, along with all the dark- colored sheep. Give them to me as my wages. 33 This will make it easy for you to see whether or not I have been honest. If you find in my flock any white sheep or goats that are not speckled, you will know that I have stolen them from you." 34 "All right," Laban replied. "It will be as you have said." 35 But that very day Laban went out and removed all the male goats that were speckled and spotted, the females that were speckled and spotted with any white patches, and all the dark- colored sheep. He placed them in the care of his sons, 36 and they took them three days 'distance from where Jacob was. Meanwhile, Jacob stayed and cared for Laban's flock. 37 Now Jacob took fresh shoots from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled off strips of the bark to make white streaks on them. 38 Then he set up these peeled branches beside the watering troughs so Laban's flocks would see them as they came to drink, for that was when they mated. 39 So when the flocks mated in front of the white- streaked branches, all of their offspring were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 40 Jacob added them to his own flock, thus separating the lambs from Laban's flock. Then at mating time, he turned the flocks toward the streaked and dark- colored rams in Laban's flock. This is how he built his flock from Laban's. 41 Whenever the stronger females were ready to mate, Jacob set up the peeled branches in front of them. 42 But he didn't do this with the weaker ones, so the weaker lambs belonged to Laban, and the stronger ones were Jacob's. 43 As a result, Jacob's flocks increased rapidly, and he became very wealthy, with many servants, camels, and donkeys. 31:1 BUT Jacob soon learned that Laban's sons were beginning to grumble. "Jacob has robbed our father!" they said. "All his wealth has been gained at our father's expense." 2 And Jacob began to notice a considerable cooling in Laban's attitude toward him. 3 Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your father and grandfather and to your relatives there, and I will be with you." 4 Jacob called Rachel and Leah out to the field where he was watching the flocks, 5 so he could talk things over with them. "Your father has turned against me and is not treating me like he used to," he told them. "But the God of my father has been with me. 6 You know how hard I have worked for your father, 7 but he has tricked me, breaking his wage agreement with me again and again. But God has not allowed him to do me any harm. 8 For if he said the speckled animals were mine, the whole flock began to produce speckled lambs. And when he changed his mind and said I could have the streaked ones, then all the lambs were born streaked. 9 In this way, God has made me wealthy at your father's expense. 10 During the mating season, I had a dream and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 11 Then in my dream, the angel of God said to me, `Jacob!' And I replied, `Yes, I'm listening! '12 The angel said, `Look, and you will see that only the streaked, speckled, and spotted males are mating with the females of your flock. For I have seen all that Laban has done to you. 13 I am the God you met at Bethel, the place where you anointed the pillar of stone and made a vow to serve me. Now leave this country and return to the land you came from.'" 14 Rachel and Leah said, "That's fine with us! There's nothing for us here-- none of our father's wealth will come to us anyway. 15 He has reduced our rights to those of foreign women. He sold us, and what he received for us has disappeared. 16 The riches God has given you from our father are legally ours and our children's to begin with. So go ahead and do whatever God has told you."
Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness. 2 Here are the names of the twelve apostles:first Simon (also called Peter), then Andrew (Peter's brother), James (son of Zebedee), John (James's brother), 3 Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew (the tax collector), James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, 4 Simon (the Zealot), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him). 5 Jesus sent the twelve disciples out with these instructions:"Don't go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, 6 but only to the people of Israel-- God's lost sheep. 7 Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received! 9" Don't take any money with you. 10 Don't carry a traveler's bag with an extra coat and sandals or even a walking stick. Don't hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve to be fed. 11 Whenever you enter a city or village, search for a worthy man and stay in his home until you leave for the next town. 12 When you are invited into someone's home, give it your blessing. 13 If it turns out to be a worthy home, let your blessing stand; if it is not, take back the blessing. 14 If a village doesn't welcome you or listen to you, shake off the dust of that place from your feet as you leave. 15 I assure you, the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah will be better off on the judgment day than that place will be. 16 "Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. Be as wary as snakes and harmless as doves. 17 But beware! For you will be handed over to the courts and beaten in the synagogues. 18 And you must stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. This will be your opportunity to tell them about me-- yes, to witness to the world. 19 When you are arrested, don't worry about what to say in your defense, because you will be given the right words at the right time. 20 For it won't be you doing the talking-- it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21" Brother will betray brother to death, fathers will betray their own children, and children will rise against their parents and cause them to be killed. 22 And everyone will hate you because of your allegiance to me. But those who endure to the end will be saved. 23 When you are persecuted in one town, flee to the next. I assure you that I, the Son of Man, will return before you have reached all the towns of Israel. "
For the choir director:A psalm of David, to be accompanied by an eight- stringed instrument.
1 Help, O LORD, for the godly are fast disappearing!
The faithful have vanished from the earth!
2 Neighbors lie to each other,
speaking with flattering lips and insincere hearts.
3 May the LORD bring their flattery to an end
and silence their proud tongues.
4 They say," We will lie to our hearts 'content.
Our lips are our own-- who can stop us? "
5 The LORD replies," I have seen violence done to the helpless,
and I have heard the groans of the poor.
Now I will rise up to rescue them,
as they have longed for me to do. "
6 The LORD's promises are pure,
like silver refined in a furnace,
and silence their proud tongues.
4 They say," We will lie to our hearts 'content.
Our lips are our own-- who can stop us? "
5 The LORD replies," I have seen violence done to the helpless,
and I have heard the groans of the poor.
Now I will rise up to rescue them,
as they have longed for me to do. "
6 The LORD's promises are pure,
like silver refined in a furnace,
purified seven times over.
7 Therefore, LORD, we know you will protect the oppressed,
preserving them forever from this lying generation,
8 even though the wicked strut about,
and evil is praised throughout the land.
Happy is the person who finds wisdom and gains understanding. For the profit of wisdom is better than silver, and her wages are better than gold. Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her
MATTHEW 10:1- 23
PSALM 12:1- 8
PROVERBS 3:13- 15
When Rachel saw that she wasn't having any children, she became jealous of her sister. "Give me children, or I'll die!" she exclaimed to Jacob. 2 Jacob flew into a rage. "Am I God?" he asked. "He is the only one able to give you children!" 3 Then Rachel told him, "Sleep with my servant, Bilhah, and she will bear children for me." 4 So Rachel gave him Bilhah to be his wife, and Jacob slept with her. 5 Bilhah became pregnant and presented him with a son. 6 Rachel named him Dan, for she said, "God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me a son." 7 Then Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son. 8 Rachel named him Naphtali, for she said, "I have had an intense struggle with my sister, and I am winning!" 9 Meanwhile, Leah realized that she wasn't getting pregnant anymore, so she gave her servant, Zilpah, to Jacob to be his wife. 10 Soon Zilpah presented him with another son. 11 Leah named him Gad, for she said, "How fortunate I am!" 12 Then Zilpah produced a second son, 13 and Leah named him Asher, for she said, "What joy is mine! The other women will consider me happy indeed!" 14 One day during the wheat harvest, Reuben found some mandrakes growing in a field and brought the roots to his mother, Leah. Rachel begged Leah to give some of them to her. 15 But Leah angrily replied, "Wasn't it enough that you stole my husband? Now will you steal my son's mandrake roots, too?" Rachel said, "I will let him sleep with you tonight in exchange for the mandrake roots." 16 So that evening, as Jacob was coming home from the fields, Leah went out to meet him. "You must sleep with me tonight!" she said. "I have paid for you with some mandrake roots my son has found." So Jacob slept with her. 17 And God answered her prayers. She became pregnant again and gave birth to her fifth son. 18 She named him Issachar, for she said, "God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband as a wife." 19 Then she became pregnant again and had a sixth son. 20 She named him Zebulun, for she said, "God has given me good gifts for my husband. Now he will honor me, for I have given him six sons." 21 Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah. 22 Then God remembered Rachel's plight and answered her prayers by giving her a child. 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. "God has removed my shame," she said. 24 And she named him Joseph, for she said, "May the LORD give me yet another son." 25 Soon after Joseph was born to Rachel, Jacob said to Laban, "I want to go back home. 26 Let me take my wives and children, for I have earned them from you, and let me be on my way. You know I have fully paid for them with my service to you." 27 "Please don't leave me," Laban replied, "for I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because you are here. 28 How much do I owe you? Whatever it is, I'll pay it." 29 Jacob replied, "You know how faithfully I've served you through these many years, and how your flocks and herds have grown. 30 You had little indeed before I came, and your wealth has increased enormously. The LORD has blessed you from everything I do! But now, what about me? When should I provide for my own family?" 31 "What wages do you want?" Laban asked again. Jacob replied, "Don't give me anything at all. Just do one thing, and I'll go back to work for you. 32 Let me go out among your flocks today and remove all the sheep and goats that are speckled or spotted, along with all the dark- colored sheep. Give them to me as my wages. 33 This will make it easy for you to see whether or not I have been honest. If you find in my flock any white sheep or goats that are not speckled, you will know that I have stolen them from you." 34 "All right," Laban replied. "It will be as you have said." 35 But that very day Laban went out and removed all the male goats that were speckled and spotted, the females that were speckled and spotted with any white patches, and all the dark- colored sheep. He placed them in the care of his sons, 36 and they took them three days 'distance from where Jacob was. Meanwhile, Jacob stayed and cared for Laban's flock. 37 Now Jacob took fresh shoots from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled off strips of the bark to make white streaks on them. 38 Then he set up these peeled branches beside the watering troughs so Laban's flocks would see them as they came to drink, for that was when they mated. 39 So when the flocks mated in front of the white- streaked branches, all of their offspring were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 40 Jacob added them to his own flock, thus separating the lambs from Laban's flock. Then at mating time, he turned the flocks toward the streaked and dark- colored rams in Laban's flock. This is how he built his flock from Laban's. 41 Whenever the stronger females were ready to mate, Jacob set up the peeled branches in front of them. 42 But he didn't do this with the weaker ones, so the weaker lambs belonged to Laban, and the stronger ones were Jacob's. 43 As a result, Jacob's flocks increased rapidly, and he became very wealthy, with many servants, camels, and donkeys. 31:1 BUT Jacob soon learned that Laban's sons were beginning to grumble. "Jacob has robbed our father!" they said. "All his wealth has been gained at our father's expense." 2 And Jacob began to notice a considerable cooling in Laban's attitude toward him. 3 Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your father and grandfather and to your relatives there, and I will be with you." 4 Jacob called Rachel and Leah out to the field where he was watching the flocks, 5 so he could talk things over with them. "Your father has turned against me and is not treating me like he used to," he told them. "But the God of my father has been with me. 6 You know how hard I have worked for your father, 7 but he has tricked me, breaking his wage agreement with me again and again. But God has not allowed him to do me any harm. 8 For if he said the speckled animals were mine, the whole flock began to produce speckled lambs. And when he changed his mind and said I could have the streaked ones, then all the lambs were born streaked. 9 In this way, God has made me wealthy at your father's expense. 10 During the mating season, I had a dream and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 11 Then in my dream, the angel of God said to me, `Jacob!' And I replied, `Yes, I'm listening! '12 The angel said, `Look, and you will see that only the streaked, speckled, and spotted males are mating with the females of your flock. For I have seen all that Laban has done to you. 13 I am the God you met at Bethel, the place where you anointed the pillar of stone and made a vow to serve me. Now leave this country and return to the land you came from.'" 14 Rachel and Leah said, "That's fine with us! There's nothing for us here-- none of our father's wealth will come to us anyway. 15 He has reduced our rights to those of foreign women. He sold us, and what he received for us has disappeared. 16 The riches God has given you from our father are legally ours and our children's to begin with. So go ahead and do whatever God has told you."
Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness. 2 Here are the names of the twelve apostles:first Simon (also called Peter), then Andrew (Peter's brother), James (son of Zebedee), John (James's brother), 3 Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew (the tax collector), James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, 4 Simon (the Zealot), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him). 5 Jesus sent the twelve disciples out with these instructions:"Don't go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, 6 but only to the people of Israel-- God's lost sheep. 7 Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received! 9" Don't take any money with you. 10 Don't carry a traveler's bag with an extra coat and sandals or even a walking stick. Don't hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve to be fed. 11 Whenever you enter a city or village, search for a worthy man and stay in his home until you leave for the next town. 12 When you are invited into someone's home, give it your blessing. 13 If it turns out to be a worthy home, let your blessing stand; if it is not, take back the blessing. 14 If a village doesn't welcome you or listen to you, shake off the dust of that place from your feet as you leave. 15 I assure you, the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah will be better off on the judgment day than that place will be. 16 "Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. Be as wary as snakes and harmless as doves. 17 But beware! For you will be handed over to the courts and beaten in the synagogues. 18 And you must stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. This will be your opportunity to tell them about me-- yes, to witness to the world. 19 When you are arrested, don't worry about what to say in your defense, because you will be given the right words at the right time. 20 For it won't be you doing the talking-- it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21" Brother will betray brother to death, fathers will betray their own children, and children will rise against their parents and cause them to be killed. 22 And everyone will hate you because of your allegiance to me. But those who endure to the end will be saved. 23 When you are persecuted in one town, flee to the next. I assure you that I, the Son of Man, will return before you have reached all the towns of Israel. "
For the choir director:A psalm of David, to be accompanied by an eight- stringed instrument.
1 Help, O LORD, for the godly are fast disappearing!
The faithful have vanished from the earth!
2 Neighbors lie to each other,
speaking with flattering lips and insincere hearts.
3 May the LORD bring their flattery to an end
and silence their proud tongues.
4 They say," We will lie to our hearts 'content.
Our lips are our own-- who can stop us? "
5 The LORD replies," I have seen violence done to the helpless,
and I have heard the groans of the poor.
Now I will rise up to rescue them,
as they have longed for me to do. "
6 The LORD's promises are pure,
like silver refined in a furnace,
and silence their proud tongues.
4 They say," We will lie to our hearts 'content.
Our lips are our own-- who can stop us? "
5 The LORD replies," I have seen violence done to the helpless,
and I have heard the groans of the poor.
Now I will rise up to rescue them,
as they have longed for me to do. "
6 The LORD's promises are pure,
like silver refined in a furnace,
purified seven times over.
7 Therefore, LORD, we know you will protect the oppressed,
preserving them forever from this lying generation,
8 even though the wicked strut about,
and evil is praised throughout the land.
Happy is the person who finds wisdom and gains understanding. For the profit of wisdom is better than silver, and her wages are better than gold. Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her
