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Psalm 15

1  Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle? ♦︎
   Who may rest upon your holy hill?
2  Whoever leads an uncorrupt life ♦︎
   and does the thing that is right;
3  Who speaks the truth from the heart ♦︎
   and bears no deceit on the tongue;
4  Who does no evil to a friend ♦︎
   and pours no scorn on a neighbour;
5  In whose sight the wicked are not esteemed, ♦︎
   but who honours those who fear the Lord.
6  Whoever has sworn to a neighbour ♦︎
   and never goes back on that word;
7  Who does not lend money in hope of gain, ♦︎
   nor takes a bribe against the innocent;
8  Whoever does these things ♦︎
   shall never fall.

Psalm 16

1  Preserve me, O God, for in you have I taken refuge; ♦︎
   I have said to the Lord, ‘You are my lord,
      all my good depends on you.’
2  All my delight is upon the godly that are in the land, ♦︎
   upon those who are noble in heart.
3  Though the idols are legion
      that many run after, ♦︎
   their drink offerings of blood I will not offer,
      neither make mention of their names upon my lips.
4  The Lord himself is my portion and my cup; ♦︎
   in your hands alone is my fortune.
5  My share has fallen in a fair land; ♦︎
   indeed, I have a goodly heritage.
6  I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel, ♦︎
   and in the night watches he instructs my heart.
7  I have set the Lord always before me; ♦︎
   he is at my right hand; I shall not fall.
8  Wherefore my heart is glad and my spirit rejoices; ♦︎
   my flesh also shall rest secure.
9  For you will not abandon my soul to Death, ♦︎
   nor suffer your faithful one to see the Pit.
10  You will show me the path of life;
      in your presence is the fullness of joy ♦︎
   and in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.

Psalm 17

1  Hear my just cause, O Lord; consider my complaint; ♦︎
   listen to my prayer, which comes not from lying lips.
2  Let my vindication come forth from your presence; ♦︎
   let your eyes behold what is right.
3  Weigh my heart, examine me by night, ♦︎
   refine me, and you will find no impurity in me.
4  My mouth does not trespass for earthly rewards; ♦︎
   I have heeded the words of your lips.
5  My footsteps hold fast in the ways of your commandments; ♦︎
   my feet have not stumbled in your paths.
6  I call upon you, O God, for you will answer me; ♦︎
   incline your ear to me, and listen to my words.
7  Show me your marvellous loving-kindness, ♦︎
   O Saviour of those who take refuge at your right hand
      from those who rise up against them.
8  Keep me as the apple of your eye; ♦︎
   hide me under the shadow of your wings,
9  From the wicked who assault me, ♦︎
   from my enemies who surround me to take away my life.
10  They have closed their heart to pity ♦︎
   and their mouth speaks proud things.
11  They press me hard, they surround me on every side, ♦︎
   watching how they may cast me to the ground,
12  Like a lion that is greedy for its prey, ♦︎
   like a young lion lurking in secret places.
13  Arise, Lord; confront them and cast them down; ♦︎
   deliver me from the wicked by your sword.
14  Deliver me, O Lord, by your hand ♦︎
   from those whose portion in life is unending,
15  Whose bellies you fill with your treasure, ♦︎
   who are well supplied with children
      and leave their wealth to their little ones.
16  As for me, I shall see your face in righteousness; ♦︎
   when I awake and behold your likeness, I shall be satisfied.

Cain Murders Abel

4Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, ‘I have produced^* a man with the help of the Lord.’ ²Next she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. ³In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, ⁴and Abel for his part brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, ⁵but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. ⁶The Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? ⁷If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.’

8 Cain said to his brother Abel, ‘Let us go out to the field.’^* And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. ⁹Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ He said, ‘I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?’ ¹⁰And the Lord said, ‘What have you done? Listen; your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! ¹¹And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. ¹²When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.’ ¹³Cain said to the Lord, ‘My punishment is greater than I can bear! ¹⁴Today you have driven me away from the soil, and I shall be hidden from your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me.’ ¹⁵Then the Lord said to him, ‘Not so!^* Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance.’ And the Lord put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came upon him would kill him. ¹⁶Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod,^* east of Eden.

Beginnings of Civilization

17 Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch; and he built a city, and named it Enoch after his son Enoch. ¹⁸To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael the father of Methushael, and Methushael the father of Lamech. ¹⁹Lamech took two wives; the name of one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. ²⁰Adah bore Jabal; he was the ancestor of those who live in tents and have livestock. ²¹His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the ancestor of all those who play the lyre and pipe. ²²Zillah bore Tubal-cain, who made all kinds of bronze and iron tools. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

23 Lamech said to his wives:
‘Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
   you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say:
I have killed a man for wounding me,
   a young man for striking me.
²⁴ If Cain is avenged sevenfold,
   truly Lamech seventy-sevenfold.’

25 Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, for she said, ‘God has appointed^* for me another child instead of Abel, because Cain killed him.’ ²⁶To Seth also a son was born, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to invoke the name of the Lord.

Moses a Servant, Christ a Son

3Therefore, brothers and sisters,^* holy partners in a heavenly calling, consider that Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, ²was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses also ‘was faithful in all^* God’s^* house.’ ³Yet Jesus^* is worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honour than the house itself. ⁴(For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) ⁵Now Moses was faithful in all God’s^* house as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken later. ⁶Christ, however, was faithful over God’s^* house as a son, and we are his house if we hold firm^* the confidence and the pride that belong to hope.

Warning against Unbelief

7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,
‘Today, if you hear his voice,
⁸ do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
   as on the day of testing in the wilderness,
⁹ where your ancestors put me to the test,
   though they had seen my works ¹⁰for forty years.
Therefore I was angry with that generation,
and I said, “They always go astray in their hearts,
   and they have not known my ways.”
¹¹ As in my anger I swore,
   “They will not enter my rest.” ’