Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Hymn of Thanksgiving
For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.
65 God, ·you will be praised in Jerusalem [L praise is due/proper/ fitting to you in Zion; C the location of the Temple].
We will ·keep our promises [fulfill our vows] to you.
2 You ·hear [or answer] our prayers.
All ·people [L flesh] will come to you.
3 Our guilt ·overwhelms [overpowers] us,
but you ·forgive [wipe/blot out; make atonement for] our ·sins [transgressions].
4 ·Happy [Blessed] are the people you choose
and ·invite [L bring near] to stay in your court.
We are ·filled [satisfied] with good things in your house,
your holy Temple.
5 You answer us in amazing ways with ·vindication [victory; righteousness],
God our ·Savior [Victor].
People ·everywhere on [L of all the ends of] the earth
and ·beyond the sea [L the farthest seas] ·trust [have confidence in] you.
6 You ·made [established] the mountains by your strength;
you are ·dressed [girded; armed] in power.
7 You ·stopped [silence; calm] the roaring seas,
the roaring waves [C representing chaos],
and the ·uproar [tumult] of the ·nations [peoples].
8 Even those people at the ends of the earth fear your ·miracles [signs].
You are praised from ·where the sun rises [the east; L the gateways of the morning] to ·where it sets [the west; L evening].
9 You ·take care of [visit] the land and water it;
you make it very ·fertile [rich].
The ·rivers [channels] of God are full of water.
Grain grows because you make it grow.
10 You send rain to the plowed fields;
you ·fill the rows with water [level its ridges].
You soften the ground with rain,
and then you bless ·it with crops [its growth].
11 You ·give [L crown] the year ·a good harvest [L with your goodness/bounty],
and ·you load the wagons with many crops [L your wagon tracks/ruts drip with plenty].
12 The ·desert [wilderness] ·is covered [drips] with ·grass [pasturage]
and the hills with happiness.
13 The ·pastures [meadows] are ·full of [L clothed with] flocks,
and the valleys are ·covered [wrapped] with grain.
Everything shouts and sings for joy.
The Hail
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and ·go to the king of Egypt [stand before Pharaoh]. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go to ·worship [serve] me. 14 If you don’t, this time I will ·punish you, your officers, and your people, with all my power [L send all my plagues against you, your officers, and your people]. Then you will know there is no one in the whole land like me. 15 By now I could have ·used my power [L stretched out my hand] and caused a terrible disease that would have destroyed you and your people from the earth. 16 But I have let you live for this reason: to show you my power so that my ·name [fame; reputation] will be ·talked about [recounted] in all the earth. 17 You are still [L exalting yourself] against my people and do not want to let them go. 18 So at this time tomorrow, I will send a ·terrible [very heavy] hailstorm, the worst in Egypt ·since it became a nation [L from the day it was founded until now]. 19 Now send for your animals and whatever you have in the fields, and bring them into a safe place. The hail will fall on every person or animal that is still in the fields. If they have not been brought in, they will die.’” 20 Some of ·the king’s [L Pharaoh’s] officers ·respected [L feared] the word of the Lord and hurried to bring their slaves and animals inside. 21 But others ·ignored [L did not set their heart on] the Lord’s ·message [word] and left their slaves and animals in the fields.
22 The Lord told Moses, “·Raise [Stretch out] your hand toward the ·sky [heavens]. Then the hail will start falling in all the land of Egypt. It will fall on people, animals, and on ·everything that grows [all the plants] in the fields of Egypt.” 23 When Moses ·raised his walking stick [stretched out his staff] toward the ·sky [heavens], the Lord sent thunder and hail, and ·lightning [L fire] ·flashed [L came] down to the earth. So he caused hail to fall upon the land of Egypt. 24 There was hail, and lightning flashed as it hailed—the ·worst [most severe] hailstorm in Egypt since it had become a nation. 25 The hail ·destroyed [L struck] all the people and animals that were in the fields in all the land of Egypt. It also ·destroyed [L struck] ·everything that grew [the plants] in the fields and broke all the trees in the fields. 26 The only place it did not hail was in the land of Goshen [8:22], where the Israelites lived.
27 ·The king [L Pharaoh] sent for Moses and Aaron and told them, “This time I have sinned. The Lord is in the right, and I and my people are ·in the wrong [guilty]. 28 ·Pray to [Entreat; Intercede with] the Lord. We have had enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go; you do not have to stay here any longer.”
29 Moses told ·the king [L him], “When I ·leave [L go out from] the city, I will ·raise [L spread] my hands to the Lord in prayer, and the thunder [L will cease] and hail will ·stop [L be no more]. Then you will know that the earth belongs to the Lord. 30 But I know that you and your officers do not yet fear the Lord God.”
31 The flax was in ·bloom [bud], and the barley ·had ripened [was in the ear], so these crops were ·destroyed [ruined]. 32 But ·both wheat crops [L the wheat and the spelt] ripen later, so they were not ·destroyed [ruined].
33 Moses left ·the king [L Pharaoh] and went outside the city. He ·raised [L spread] his hands to the Lord, and the thunder and hail ·stopped [L ceased]. The rain ·also stopped falling to [L no longer poured on] the ground. 34 When ·the king [L Pharaoh] saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had ·stopped [L ceased], he sinned again, and he and his officers ·became stubborn [L hardened their hearts]. 35 So ·the king [L Pharaoh] ·became stubborn [L hardened his heart] and refused to let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through [L the hand of] Moses.
The Ship Is Destroyed
39 When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a beach and wanted to sail the ship ·to [up on] the beach if they could. 40 So they ·cut the ropes to [L cast off] the anchors and left ·the anchors [L them] in the sea. At the same time, they untied the ropes that were holding the rudders. Then they raised the front sail into the wind and sailed toward the beach. 41 But the ship hit a ·sandbank [reef; shoal; or cross-current; L place of two seas]. The front of the ship stuck there and could not move, but the ·back of the ship [stern] began to break up from the big waves.
42 The soldiers ·decided [made a decision] to kill the prisoners so none of them could swim away and escape. 43 But ·Julius, the officer, [L the centurion] wanted to ·let Paul live [L save Paul] and ·did not allow the soldiers to kill the prisoners [L stopped them from their plan]. Instead he ordered everyone who could swim to jump into the water first and swim to land. 44 The rest were to follow using wooden boards or pieces of the ship. And this is how all the people made it safely to land.
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