Daily Lectionary

Genesis 4:1-26

¹ Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.”
² And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.
³ In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground,
⁴ and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering,
⁵ but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.
⁶ The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?
⁷ If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, and you must rule over it.”
⁸ Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
⁹ Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”
¹⁰ And the LORD said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.
¹¹ And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
¹² When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”
¹³ Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.
¹⁴ Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
¹⁵ Then the LORD said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him.
¹⁶ Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
¹⁷ Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.
¹⁸ To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech.
¹⁹ And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
²⁰ Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock.
²¹ His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe.
²² Zillah also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. 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’s revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.”
²⁵ And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.”
²⁶ To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD. (ESV)

Mark 2:18-28

¹⁸ Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”
¹⁹ And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
²⁰ The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.
²¹ No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.
²² And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”
²³ One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain.
²⁴ And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
²⁵ And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him:
²⁶ how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?”
²⁷ And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
²⁸ So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” (ESV)