Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Gimel

If They Will Not Believe These Signs

4 Then Moses answered and said, “What if they will not believe me and will not ^(A)listen to my voice? For they may say, ‘^(B)Yahweh has not appeared to you.’” ² And Yahweh said to him, “What is this in your hand?” And he said, “^(C)A staff.” ³ Then He said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and ^(D)it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. ⁴ And Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail”—so he stretched out his hand and took hold of it, and it became a staff in his ^[a]hand— ⁵ “that ^(E)they may believe that ^(F)Yahweh, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

⁶ And Yahweh furthermore said to him, “Now put your hand into your bosom.” So he put his hand into his bosom; then he took it out, and behold, his hand was ^(G)leprous like snow. ⁷ Then He said, “Return your hand into your bosom.” So he returned his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, ^(H)it returned to being like the rest of his flesh. ⁸ “And so it will be, if they will not believe you or listen to the ^[b]witness of the first sign, they may believe the ^[c]witness of ^[d]this last sign. ⁹ But if it will be that they will not believe even these two signs and that they will not listen to your voice, then you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry land; and the water which you take from the Nile ^(I)will become blood on the dry land.”

Aaron to Speak for Moses

¹⁰ Then Moses said to Yahweh, “Please, Lord, ^(J)I have never been a man of words, neither ^[e]recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your slave; for I am one with a ^[f]hard mouth and a ^[g]hard tongue.” ¹¹ And Yahweh said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or ^(K)who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, Yahweh? ¹² So now, go, and ^(L)I, even I, will be with your mouth and will ^(M)instruct you what you shall speak.” ¹³ But he said, “Please, Lord, ^[h]send now the message by whomever You will.” ¹⁴ Then the anger of Yahweh burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that ^[i]he can certainly speak. And moreover, behold, ^(N)he is coming out to meet you. And he will see you and be glad in his heart. ¹⁵ And you are to speak to him and ^(O)put the words in his mouth; and I, even I, will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will instruct ^[j]you in what you shall do. ¹⁶ Moreover, ^(P)he shall speak for you to the people; and he will become as a mouth for you, and you will become as God to him. ¹⁷ And you shall take in your hand ^(Q)this staff, ^(R)with which you shall do the signs.”

As Living Stones, God’s Chosen Family

2 Therefore, ^(A)laying aside all ^[a]malice and all deceit and ^[b]hypocrisy and ^[c]envy and all ^[d](B)slander, ^2 (C)like newborn babies, long for the ^[e](D)pure ^[f]milk of the word, so that by it you may ^(E)grow ^[g]in respect to salvation, ³ if you have ^(F)tasted ^[h](G)the kindness of the ^[i]Lord.

⁴ And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been ^(H)rejected by men, but is ^[j]choice and precious in the sight of God, ^5 (I)you also, as living stones, ^[k]are being built up as a ^(J)spiritual house for a holy ^(K)priesthood, to ^(L)offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For this is contained in ^[l]Scripture:

^7 (O)This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve,

⁸ and,

^(S)They stumble because they are disobedient to the word, ^(T)and to this stumbling they were also appointed.

⁹ But you are ^(U)a chosen family, a royal ^(V)priesthood, a ^(W)holy nation, ^(X)a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you ^(Y)out of darkness into His marvelous light; ^10 (Z)for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.