Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 78
Lessons from Israel’s Past
A Maskil of Asaph.(A)
1 My people, hear my instruction;
listen to the words from my mouth.(B)
2 I will declare wise sayings;
I will speak mysteries from the past(C)—
3 things we have heard and known
and that our ancestors have passed down to us.(D)
4 We will not hide them from their children,
but will tell a future generation
the praiseworthy acts of the Lord,
his might, and the wondrous works
he has performed.(E)
52 He led his people out like sheep
and guided them like a flock in the wilderness.(A)
53 He led them safely, and they were not afraid;
but the sea covered their enemies.(B)
54 He brought them to his holy territory,
to the mountain his right hand acquired.(C)
55 He drove out nations before them.(D)
He apportioned their inheritance by lot
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.(E)
56 But they rebelliously tested the Most High God,
for they did not keep his decrees.(F)
57 They treacherously turned away like their ancestors;
they became warped like a faulty bow.(G)
58 They enraged him with their high places
and provoked his jealousy with their carved images.(H)
59 God heard and became furious;
he completely rejected Israel.(I)
60 He abandoned the tabernacle at Shiloh,
the tent where he resided among mankind.(J)
61 He gave up his strength to captivity
and his splendor to the hand of a foe.(K)
62 He surrendered his people to the sword
because he was enraged with his heritage.(L)
63 Fire consumed his chosen young men,
and his young women had no wedding songs.[a](M)
64 His priests fell by the sword,
and the widows could not lament.(N)
65 The Lord awoke as if from sleep,
like a warrior from the effects of wine.(O)
66 He beat back his foes;
he gave them lasting disgrace.(P)
67 He rejected the tent of Joseph
and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68 He chose instead the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loved.(Q)
69 He built his sanctuary like the heights,
like the earth that he established forever.(R)
70 He chose David his servant
and took him from the sheep pens;(S)
71 he brought him from tending ewes
to be shepherd over his people Jacob—
over Israel, his inheritance.(T)
72 He shepherded them with a pure heart
and guided them with his skillful hands.(U)
27 Yet on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they did not find any. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you[a] refuse to keep my commands(A) and instructions? 29 Understand that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he will give you two days’ worth of bread. Each of you stay where you are; no one is to leave his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 The house of Israel named the substance manna.[b](B) It resembled coriander seed, was white, and tasted like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Two quarts[c] of it are to be preserved throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”
33 Moses told Aaron, “Take a container and put two quarts[d] of manna in it. Then place it before the Lord to be preserved throughout your generations.” 34 As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron placed it before the testimony(C) to be preserved.
35 The Israelites ate manna for forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate manna until they reached the border of the land of Canaan.(D) 36 (They used a measure called an omer, which held two quarts.[e])
Dispute in Antioch
15 Some men(A) came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised(B) according to the custom prescribed by Moses,(C) you cannot be saved.” 2 After Paul and Barnabas had engaged them in serious argument and debate, Paul and Barnabas and some others were appointed to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem about this issue.(D) 3 When they had been sent on their way by the church,(E) they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and they brought great joy to all the brothers and sisters.
4 When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.(F) 5 But some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”
The Letter to the Gentile Believers
22 Then the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, decided to select men who were among them and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: Judas, called Barsabbas, and Silas,(A) both leading men among the brothers. 23 They wrote:
“From the apostles and the elders, your brothers,
To the brothers and sisters among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia:(B)
Greetings.
24 Since we have heard that some without our authorization went out from us(C) and troubled you with their words and unsettled your hearts,[a](D) 25 we have unanimously(E) decided to select men and send them to you along with our dearly loved Barnabas and Paul, 26 who have risked their lives(F) for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, who will personally report the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it was the Holy Spirit’s decision—and ours—not to place further burdens on you beyond these requirements:(G) 29 that you abstain from food offered to idols, from blood, from eating anything that has been strangled, and from sexual immorality.(H) You will do well if you keep yourselves from these things.
Farewell.”
The Outcome of the Jerusalem Letter
30 So they were sent off and went down to Antioch, and after gathering the assembly, they delivered the letter. 31 When they read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. 32 Both Judas and Silas, who were also prophets themselves, encouraged the brothers and sisters and strengthened them with a long message.(I) 33 After spending some time there, they were sent back in peace(J) by the brothers and sisters to those who had sent them.[b][c] 35 But Paul and Barnabas, along with many others, remained in Antioch, teaching and proclaiming the word of the Lord.(K)
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