O God, Do Not Keep Silence

A Song. A Psalm of ^(A)Asaph.

¹⁰ But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but ^(A)I am slow of speech and of tongue.” ¹¹ Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? ¹² Now therefore go, and ^(B)I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” ¹³ But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” ¹⁴ Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, ^(C)he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. ^15 (D)You shall speak to him and ^(E)put the words in his mouth, and ^(F)I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. ^16 (G)He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and ^(H)you shall be as God to him. ¹⁷ And take in your hand ^(I)this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”

Moses Returns to Egypt

¹⁸ Moses went back to ^(J)Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” ¹⁹ And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for ^(K)all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” ²⁰ So Moses took ^(L)his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took ^(M)the staff of God in his hand.

²¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the ^(N)miracles that I have put in your power. But ^(O)I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. ²² Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, ^(P)Israel is my ^(Q)firstborn son, ²³ and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I ^(R)will kill your firstborn son.’”

²⁴ At a lodging place on the way ^(S)the Lord met him and ^(T)sought to put him to death. ²⁵ Then ^(U)Zipporah took a ^(V)flint and cut off her son's foreskin and touched Moses'^[a] feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” ²⁶ So he let him alone. It was then that she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.

²⁷ The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness ^(W)to meet Moses.” So he went and met him at the ^(X)mountain of God and kissed him. ²⁸ And Moses ^(Y)told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him to speak, and all ^(Z)the signs that he had commanded him to do. ²⁹ Then Moses and Aaron ^(AA)went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. ^30 (AB)Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. ³¹ And the people ^(AC)believed; and when they heard that the Lord had ^(AD)visited the people of Israel and that he had ^(AE)seen their affliction, ^(AF)they bowed their heads and worshiped.

To the Church in Sardis

3 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him ^(A)who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

“‘I know your works. You have the reputation ^(B)of being alive, ^(C)but you are dead. ² Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works ^(D)complete in the sight of my God. ^3 (E)Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, ^(F)I will come ^(G)like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. ⁴ Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not ^(H)soiled their garments, and they will walk with me ^(I)in white, for they are ^(J)worthy. ^5 (K)The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never ^(L)blot his name out of ^(M)the book of life. ^(N)I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. ^6 (O)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’