Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
8 The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
where morning dawns, where evening fades,
you call forth songs of joy.(A)
9 You care for the land and water it;(B)
you enrich it abundantly.(C)
The streams of God are filled with water
to provide the people with grain,(D)
for so you have ordained it.[a]
10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
you soften it with showers(E) and bless its crops.
11 You crown the year with your bounty,(F)
and your carts overflow with abundance.(G)
12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;(H)
the hills are clothed with gladness.(I)
13 The meadows are covered with flocks(J)
and the valleys are mantled with grain;(K)
they shout for joy and sing.(L)
37 Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond(A) and plane trees(B) and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches.(C) 38 Then he placed the peeled branches(D) in all the watering troughs,(E) so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat(F) and came to drink, 39 they mated in front of the branches.(G) And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted.(H) 40 Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals(I) that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban’s animals. 41 Whenever the stronger females were in heat,(J) Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches,(K) 42 but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob.(L) 43 In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.(M)
The Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord(A) and in his mighty power.(B) 11 Put on the full armor of God,(C) so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,(D) but against the rulers, against the authorities,(E) against the powers(F) of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.(G) 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God,(H) so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,(I) with the breastplate of righteousness in place,(J) 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.(K) 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith,(L) with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.(M) 17 Take the helmet of salvation(N) and the sword of the Spirit,(O) which is the word of God.(P)
18 And pray in the Spirit(Q) on all occasions(R) with all kinds of prayers and requests.(S) With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying(T) for all the Lord’s people.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.