Exodus 15:1-21
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Song of Moses
15 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:
“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.(A)
2 The Lord is my strength and my might,[a]
and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him;
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.(B)
3 The Lord is a warrior;
the Lord is his name.(C)
4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he cast into the sea;
his elite officers were sunk in the Red Sea.[b](D)
5 The floods covered them;
they went down into the depths like a stone.(E)
6 Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power—
your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy.(F)
7 In the greatness of your majesty you overthrew your adversaries;
you sent out your fury; it consumed them like stubble.(G)
8 At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up;
the floods stood up in a heap;
the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.(H)
9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue; I will overtake;
I will divide the spoil; my desire shall have its fill of them.
I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’(I)
10 You blew with your wind; the sea covered them;
they sank like lead in the mighty waters.(J)
11 Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
awesome in splendor, doing wonders?(K)
12 You stretched out your right hand;
the earth swallowed them.
13 In your steadfast love you led the people whom you redeemed;
you guided them by your strength to your holy abode.(L)
14 The peoples heard; they trembled;
pangs seized the inhabitants of Philistia.(M)
15 Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed;
trembling seized the leaders of Moab;
all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away.(N)
16 Terror and dread fell upon them;
by the might of your arm, they became still as a stone
until your people, O Lord, passed by,
until the people whom you acquired passed by.(O)
17 You brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your own possession,
the place, O Lord, that you made your abode,
the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established.(P)
18 The Lord will reign forever and ever.”(Q)
19 When the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his chariot drivers went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.(R)
The Song of Miriam
20 Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing.(S) 21 And Miriam sang to them:
“Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.”(T)
Psalm 18
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 18
Royal Thanksgiving for Victory
To the leader. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who addressed the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:
1 I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.(A)
3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
so I shall be saved from my enemies.(B)
4 The cords of death encompassed me;
the torrents of perdition assailed me;(C)
5 the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.(D)
6 In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.(E)
7 Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and reeled because he was angry.(F)
8 Smoke went up from his nostrils
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9 He bowed the heavens and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.(G)
10 He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly upon the wings of the wind.(H)
11 He made darkness his covering around him,
his canopy thick clouds dark with water.(I)
12 Out of the brightness before him
there broke through his clouds
hailstones and coals of fire.(J)
13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice.[a](K)
14 And he sent out his arrows and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.(L)
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.(M)
16 He reached down from on high; he took me;
he drew me out of mighty waters.(N)
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.(O)
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out into a broad place;
he delivered me because he delighted in me.(P)
20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me.(Q)
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord
and have not wickedly departed from my God.(R)
22 For all his ordinances were before me,
and his statutes I did not put away from me.(S)
23 I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from guilt.
24 Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.(T)
25 With the loyal you show yourself loyal;
with the blameless you show yourself blameless;(U)
26 with the pure you show yourself pure;
and with the crooked you show yourself shrewd.(V)
27 For you deliver a humble people,
but the haughty eyes you bring down.(W)
28 It is you who light my lamp;
the Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.(X)
29 By you I can outrun a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.(Y)
30 This God—his way is perfect;
the promise of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.(Z)
31 For who is God except the Lord?
And who is a rock besides our God?(AA)
32 The God who has girded me with strength
and made my way safe.[b]
33 He made my feet like the feet of a deer
and set me secure on the heights.(AB)
34 He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.(AC)
35 You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand has supported me;
your help[c] has made me great.
36 You gave me a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them
and did not turn back until they were consumed.(AD)
38 I struck them down so that they were unable to rise;
they fell under my feet.(AE)
39 For you girded me with strength for the battle;
you made my assailants sink under me.(AF)
40 You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
and those who hated me I destroyed.(AG)
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them;
they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.(AH)
42 I beat them fine, like dust before the wind;
I cast them out like the mire of the streets.(AI)
43 You delivered me from strife with the peoples;[d]
you made me head of the nations;
people whom I had not known served me.(AJ)
44 As soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me;
foreigners came cringing to me.
45 Foreigners lost heart
and came trembling out of their strongholds.(AK)
46 The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock,
and exalted be the God of my salvation,(AL)
47 the God who gave me vengeance
and subdued peoples under me,(AM)
48 who delivered me from my enemies;
indeed, you exalted me above my adversaries;
you delivered me from the violent.(AN)
Luke 1:46-55
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Mary’s Song of Praise
46 And Mary[a] said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,(A)
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,(B)
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.
Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,(C)
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name;(D)
50 indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.(E)
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.(F)
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly;(G)
53 he has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty.(H)
54 He has come to the aid of his child Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,(I)
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”(J)
Footnotes
- 1.46 Other ancient authorities read Elizabeth
Acts 16:16-40
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Paul and Silas in Prison
16 One day as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a female slave who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling.(A) 17 While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you[a] the way of salvation.”(B) 18 She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.
19 But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities.(C) 20 When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, “These men, these Jews, are disturbing our city(D) 21 and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us, being Romans, to adopt or observe.” 22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods.(E) 23 After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely.(F) 24 Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.(G)
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.(H) 26 Suddenly there was an earthquake so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.(I) 27 When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped.(J) 28 But Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29 The jailer[b] called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”(K) 31 They answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”(L) 32 They spoke the word of the Lord[c] to him and to all who were in his house. 33 At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. 34 He brought them up into the house and set food before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.(M)
35 When morning came, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” 36 And the jailer reported the message to Paul, saying, “The magistrates sent word to let you go; therefore come out now and go in peace.”(N) 37 But Paul replied, “They have beaten us in public, uncondemned, men who are Romans, and have thrown us into prison, and now are they going to discharge us in secret? Certainly not! Let them come and take us out themselves.”(O) 38 The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans,(P) 39 so they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city.(Q) 40 After leaving the prison they went to Lydia’s home, and when they had seen and encouraged the brothers and sisters there, they departed.(R)
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