Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Asaph wrote this special song.
God has been good to his people[a]
78 My people, listen to what I am teaching you.
Listen to the words that I speak.
2 I will tell you something to make you wise.
Then you will understand
things that happened long ago.
3 We have heard about these things
and we know them.
Our ancestors have told them to us,
4 and we will not hide them from our children.
We will tell our children and our grandchildren
why they should praise the Lord.
We will tell them about his strength,
and about the great things that he has done.
52 But God led his own people safely out of Egypt.
But took them through the wilderness,
like a shepherd leads his sheep.[a]
53 They were safe with him as their guide,
and they were not afraid.
But their enemies drowned in the sea.[b]
54 He brought his people to the edge of his holy land.
It was land with the mountain
that he had taken with his power.[c]
55 He chased away the nations that were living there.
He gave to each tribe their own piece of land,
so that Israel's tribes could live there.[d]
56 But the Israelites continued to test the Most High God,
and they turned against him.
They did not obey his commands.[e]
57 They turned away from him and they deceived him,
as their ancestors had done.
They were useless,
like a bow that would not shoot straight!
58 The places where they worshipped their idols
made God very angry.
59 God heard what they were doing,
and he became very angry.
He turned against the Israelite people.
60 He went away from his home at Shiloh.
That was the tent where he lived among people.[f]
61 He let Israel's enemies take away the Covenant Box,
that showed his power and his glory.[g]
62 He was so angry with his own people,
he let their enemies kill them in battle.
63 Fire killed their young men in war.
There was nobody for the young women to marry.
64 Their priests died in battle.
Their widows had no chance to weep.
65 Then the Lord woke up,
like someone had woken him from sleep.
He shouted loudly,
like a soldier who has drunk a lot of wine.
66 He chased his enemies away.
He caused them to be ashamed for ever.
67 He chose not to live among Joseph's descendants.
He did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68 Instead, he chose the tribe of Judah.
He chose Mount Zion,
the place which he loves.
69 There he built a temple for himself,
to be like his home in heaven.
He made it to be strong, like the earth itself,
so that it would always be there.
70 Also, he chose his servant, David.
He took David away from the fields,
71 so that he no longer took care of his father's sheep.
He became like a shepherd,
to lead his people, Jacob's descendants.
He ruled the people that belonged to God,
the Israelite people.[h]
72 David took care of them with an honest heart.
He was wise in the way that he led them.
27 But on the seventh day, some of the people went out to pick up food. But they did not find any. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘The people continue to refuse to obey my commands. They refuse to do what I tell them! 29 Remember this: The Lord has given the Sabbath day to you. That is why, on the sixth day, he gives you enough food for two days. Then everyone must stay at home on the seventh day. Nobody must leave his home that day.’ 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 The Israelites called the special food ‘manna’. It was white, like seeds called coriander. When they tasted the manna, it was like thin pieces of bread with honey in it.
32 Moses said, ‘This is what the Lord has commanded: “Keep one bowl (an omer) of manna for people to look at in future times. They will see the bread that I fed to you in the desert, after I had brought you out of Egypt.” ’
33 So Moses said to Aaron, ‘Put an omer of manna into a jar. Then put the jar in the place where we worship the Lord. We must keep it safe, so that our descendants can see it in the future.’
34 Aaron did what the Lord had told Moses. He put the jar in the Covenant Box, to keep it safe.[a]
35 The Israelites ate the manna for 40 years, until they had finished their journey in the desert. After those 40 years, they arrived at the edge of Canaan.
36 (The people used omers to measure the food. Ten omers is equal to one ephah.)[b]
Paul and Barnabas go to Jerusalem
15 Some men arrived in Antioch from Judea.[a] They began to teach the believers there who were not Jews. They said to them, ‘God cannot save you unless someone circumcises you. This is in the Law that God gave to Moses.’
2 Paul and Barnabas did not agree with these men. They argued strongly against them. As a result, the believers in Antioch decided what to do. They chose Paul, Barnabas and some of the other believers to go to Jerusalem. They should go to meet with the apostles and the other leaders of the believers. The leaders should decide who was right in this quarrel. 3 The group of believers at Antioch sent Paul, Barnabas and the other men on their way. They travelled through Phoenicia and Samaria. They spoke to the believers in those places. They told them, ‘Gentiles are also turning to God and they are believing in Jesus.’ The believers were all very happy to hear this news. 4 When Paul, Barnabas and the other men arrived in Jerusalem, they met with the believers there. The apostles, the other leaders and the whole group of believers were happy to see them. Paul and Barnabas told them about everything that God had helped them to do.
5 Some Jewish believers were there who also belonged to the Pharisees' group. They stood up and they said, ‘We must circumcise Gentiles when they become believers. We must tell them to obey all the Law that God gave to Moses.’
The leaders in Jerusalem write a letter to the Gentile believers
22 The whole group of believers agreed with what James said. So the apostles and the other leaders decided to choose some men from among the group of believers. These men would go to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Silas and Judas, who was also called Barsabbas. The believers all respected these men as leaders.
23 This is the letter that they sent with those men:
‘We, the apostles and leaders of the believers here say “hello” to you, our friends who also believe in Jesus. We say “hello” to all of you Gentile believers who live in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia.[a]
24 We have heard that some men from our group have confused your thoughts. These men came to you and they taught you without our authority. The things that they said were not right and they have upset you. 25 So now we have all met together. We have agreed what to do about this problem. We have chosen some men to bring this message to you. They will travel with our good friends, Barnabas and Paul. 26 These two men have worked as servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that, they have almost lost their lives. 27 So we are also sending Judas and Silas to you. They will tell you the same things that we have written in this letter. 28 The Holy Spirit has shown us what we should do. We also think that this is the right thing to do. We do not want to put a heavy weight on you. So these are the only rules that we want you to obey: 29 Do not eat any food that people have given to their idols. Do not eat anything that still has blood in it. If people have strangled an animal to kill it, do not eat its meat. Do not have sex with anyone that you are not married to. If you obey these rules, you will do well. Goodbye.’
30 So the believers in Jerusalem sent these four men to go to Antioch. When they arrived there, they told the group of believers to meet together. When they all met, Silas and Judas gave them the letter. 31 When the believers in Antioch read the letter, they were very happy. They said, ‘This message will help us very much.’ 32 Judas and Silas were both prophets. They spoke a message from God to the believers there. They spoke for a long time to help the believers and to make them strong. 33 Judas and Silas remained in Antioch for some time. Then the group of believers sent them back to Jerusalem. The believers prayed that God would help them and take care of them. 34 [b] [But Silas decided to stay there.]
35 Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch for a longer time. Together with many other believers, they taught the people, and they spoke the message about the Lord Jesus.
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