Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 105[a]
105 Give thanks to the Lord.
Call on his name.
Make known his accomplishments among the nations.
2 Sing to him.
Make music to him.
Tell about all his miraculous deeds.
3 Boast about his holy name.
Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Seek the Lord and the strength he gives.
Seek his presence continually.
5 Recall the miraculous deeds he performed,
his mighty acts and the judgments he decreed,[b]
6 O children[c] of Abraham,[d] God’s[e] servant,
you descendants[f] of Jacob, God’s[g] chosen ones.
7 He is the Lord our God;
he carries out judgment throughout the earth.[h]
8 He always remembers his covenantal decree,
the promise he made[i] to a thousand generations—
9 the promise[j] he made to Abraham,
the promise he made by oath to Isaac.
10 He gave it to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel as a lasting promise,[k]
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the portion of your inheritance.”
12 When they were few in number,
just a very few, and resident foreigners within it,
13 they wandered from nation to nation,
and from one kingdom to another.[l]
14 He let no one oppress them;
he disciplined kings for their sake,
15 saying,[m] “Don’t touch my chosen ones.[n]
Don’t harm my prophets.”
16 He called down a famine upon the earth;
he cut off all the food supply.[a]
17 He sent a man ahead of them[b]—
Joseph was sold as a servant.
18 The shackles hurt his feet;[c]
his neck was placed in an iron collar,[d]
19 until the time when his prediction[e] came true.
The Lord’s word[f] proved him right.[g]
20 The king authorized his release;[h]
the ruler of nations set him free.
21 He put him in charge of his palace,[i]
and made him manager of all his property,
22 giving him authority to imprison his officials[j]
and to teach his advisers.[k]
23 Israel moved to[l] Egypt;
Jacob lived for a time[m] in the land of Ham.
24 The Lord[n] made his people very fruitful,
and made them[o] more numerous than their[p] enemies.
25 He caused the Egyptians[q] to hate his people,
and to mistreat[r] his servants.
26 He sent his servant Moses,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They executed his miraculous signs among them,[s]
and his amazing deeds in the land of Ham.
28 He made it dark;[t]
Moses and Aaron did not disobey his orders.[u]
29 He turned the Egyptians’ water into blood,
and killed their fish.
30 Their land was overrun by frogs,
which even got into the rooms of their kings.
31 He ordered flies to come;[v]
gnats invaded their whole territory.
32 He sent hail along with the rain;[w]
there was lightning in their land.[x]
33 He destroyed their vines and fig trees,
and broke the trees throughout their territory.
34 He ordered locusts to come,[y]
innumerable grasshoppers.
35 They ate all the vegetation in their land,
and devoured the crops of their fields.[z]
36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the firstfruits of their reproductive power.[aa]
37 He brought his people[ab] out enriched[ac] with silver and gold;
none of his tribes stumbled.
38 Egypt was happy when they left,
for they were afraid of them.[ad]
39 He spread out a cloud for a cover,[ae]
and provided a fire to light up the night.
40 They asked for food,[af] and he sent quail;
he satisfied them with food from the sky.[ag]
41 He opened up a rock and water flowed out;
a river ran through dry regions.
10 However, the whole community threatened to stone them.[a] But[b] the glory[c] of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the tent[d] of meeting.
The Punishment from God
11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise[e] me, and how long will they not believe[f] in me, in spite of the signs that I have done among them? 12 I will strike them with the pestilence,[g] and I will disinherit them—I will make you into a nation that is greater and mightier than they!”
13 Moses said to the Lord, “When the Egyptians hear[h] it—for you brought up this people by your power from among them— 14 then they will tell it to the inhabitants[i] of this land. They have heard that you, Lord, are among this people, that you, Lord, are seen face to face,[j] that your cloud stands over them, and that you go before them by day in a pillar of cloud and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 If you kill[k] this entire people at once,[l] then the nations that have heard of your fame will say, 16 ‘Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to them, he killed them in the wilderness.’ 17 So now, let the power of my Lord[m] be great, just as you have said, 18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in loyal love,[n] forgiving iniquity and transgression,[o] but by no means clearing the guilty,[p] visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children until the third and fourth generations.’[q] 19 Please forgive[r] the iniquity of this people according to your great loyal love,[s] just as you have forgiven this people from Egypt even until now.”
20 Then the Lord said, “I have forgiven them as you asked.[t] 21 But truly, as I live,[u] all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord. 22 For all the people have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have tempted[v] me now these ten times,[w] and have not obeyed me[x]— 23 they will by no means[y] see the land that I promised on oath to their fathers, nor will any of them who despised me see it— 24 Only my servant Caleb, because he had a different spirit and has followed me fully—I will bring him into the land where he had gone, and his descendants[z] will possess it.
Learning from Israel’s Failures
10 For I do not want you to be unaware,[a] brothers and sisters,[b] that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized[c] into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they were all drinking from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. 5 But God was not pleased with most of them, for they were cut down in the wilderness. 6 These things happened as examples for us, so that we will not crave evil things as they did. 7 So do not be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.”[d] 8 And let us not be immoral, as some of them were, and 23,000 died in a single day.[e] 9 And let us not put Christ[f] to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by snakes.[g] 10 And do not complain, as some of them did, and were killed by the destroying angel.[h] 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 So let the one who thinks he is standing be careful that he does not fall. 13 No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others.[i] And God is faithful: He[j] will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear,[k] but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it.
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