First Sunday in Lent, Year B

⁸ God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, ⁹ “As for me, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your offspring after you, ¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the livestock, and every animal of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ship, even every animal of the earth. ¹¹ I will establish my covenant with you: All flesh will not be cut off any more by the waters of the flood. There will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.” ¹² God said, “This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: ¹³ I set my rainbow in the cloud, and it will be a sign of a covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ When I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow will be seen in the cloud, ¹⁵ I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters will no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶ The rainbow will be in the cloud. I will look at it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” ¹⁷ God said to Noah, “This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

¹ To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. ² My God, I have trusted in you. Don’t let me be shamed. Don’t let my enemies triumph over me. ³ Yes, no one who waits for you will be shamed. They will be shamed who deal treacherously without cause. ⁴ Show me your ways, the LORD. Teach me your paths. ⁵ Guide me in your truth, and teach me, For you are the God of my salvation, I wait for you all day long. ⁶ O LORD, remember your tender mercies and your loving kindness, for they are from old times. ⁷ Don’t remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions. Remember me according to your loving kindness, for your goodness’ sake, the LORD. ⁸ Good and upright is the LORD, therefore he will instruct sinners in the way. ⁹ He will guide the humble in justice. He will teach the humble his way. ¹⁰ All the paths of the LORD are loving kindness and truth to such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.

¹⁸ Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit, ¹⁹ in whom he also went and preached to the spirits in prison, ²⁰ who before were disobedient, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, while the ship was being built. In it, few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. ²¹ This is a symbol of baptism, which now saves you—not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²² who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, angels and authorities and powers being made subject to him.