Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A maskil by Asaph.
78 Open your ears to my teachings, my people.
Turn your ears to the words from my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth to illustrate points.
I will explain what has been hidden long ago,
3 things that we have heard and known about,
things that our parents have told us.
4 We will not hide them from our children.
We will tell the next generation
about the Lord’s power and great deeds
and the miraculous things he has done.
5 He established written instructions for Jacob’s people.
He gave his teachings to Israel.
He commanded our ancestors to make them known to their children
6 so that the next generation would know them.
Children yet to be born ⌞would learn them⌟.
They will grow up and tell their children
7 to trust God, to remember what he has done,
and to obey his commands.
8 Then they will not be like their ancestors,
a stubborn and rebellious generation.
Their hearts were not loyal.
Their spirits were not faithful to God.
17 They continued to sin against him,
to rebel in the desert against the Most High.
18 They deliberately tested God by demanding the food they craved.
19 They spoke against God by saying,
“Can God prepare a banquet in the desert?
20 True, he did strike a rock,
and water did gush out,
and the streams did overflow.
But can he also give us bread or provide us, his people, with meat?”
21 When the Lord heard this, he became furious.
His fire burned against Jacob
and his anger flared up at Israel
22 because they did not believe God
or trust him to save them.
23 In spite of that, he commanded the clouds above
and opened the doors of heaven.
24 He rained manna down on them to eat
and gave them grain from heaven.
25 Humans ate the bread of the mighty ones,
and God sent them plenty of food.
26 He made the east wind blow in the heavens
and guided the south wind with his might.
27 He rained meat down on them like dust,
birds like the sand on the seashore.
28 He made the birds fall in the middle of his camp,
all around his dwelling place.
29 They ate more than enough.
He gave them what they wanted,
2 In the desert the whole community complained about Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only the Lord had let us die in Egypt! There we sat by our pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted! You brought us out into this desert to let us all starve to death!”
4 The Lord said to Moses, “I’m going to send you food from heaven like rain. Each day the people should go out and gather only what they need for that day. In this way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow my instructions. 5 But on the sixth day when they prepare what they bring home, it should be twice as much as they gather on other days.”
6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt. 7 In the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard you complaining about him. Why are you complaining about us?” 8 Moses also said, “The Lord will give you meat to eat in the evening and all the food you want in the morning. The Lord has heard you complaining about him. Who are we? You’re not complaining about us but about the Lord.”
9 Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community of Israelites, ‘Come into the Lord’s presence. He has heard you complaining.’ ”
10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole community of Israelites, they looked toward the desert. Suddenly, they saw the glory of the Lord in the ⌞column of⌟ smoke.
11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I’ve heard the Israelites complaining. Tell them, ‘At dusk you will eat meat, and in the morning you will eat all the food you want. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’ ”
13 That evening quails came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, the ground was covered with a thin layer of flakes like frost on the ground. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they asked each other, “What is this?” because they didn’t know what it was.
Moses said to them, “It’s the food the Lord has given you to eat.
31 The Israelites called the food manna. It was like coriander seeds. It was white and tasted like wafers made with honey.
32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: Take two quarts of manna to be kept for your descendants. This way they will see the food that I gave you to eat in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt.”
33 Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, put two quarts of manna in it, and put it in the Lord’s presence to be kept for your descendants.” 34 Aaron put the jar of manna in front of the words of God’s promise to be kept there, as the Lord commanded Moses.
35 The Israelites ate manna for 40 years until they came to a place to settle. They ate manna until they came to the border of Canaan.
Jesus Feeds More Than Four Thousand(A)
32 Jesus called his disciples and said, “I feel sorry for the people. They have been with me three days now and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they may become exhausted on their way home.”
33 His disciples asked him, “Where could we get enough bread to feed such a crowd in this place where no one lives?”
34 Jesus asked them, “How many loaves of bread do you have?”
They answered, “Seven, and a few small fish.”
35 He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks to God. Then he broke the bread and gave it to the disciples, and they gave the bread and fish to the people.
37 All of them ate as much as they wanted. The disciples picked up the leftover pieces and filled seven large baskets. 38 Four thousand men had eaten. (This number does not include the women and children who had eaten.)
39 After he sent the people on their way, Jesus stepped into the boat and came to the territory of Magadan.
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.