Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 78

A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem, of Asaph.

¹ Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

² I will open my mouth in a parable (in instruction by numerous examples); I will utter dark sayings of old [that hide important truth]—^(A)

³ Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.

⁴ We will not hide them from their children, but we will tell to the generation to come the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, and His might, and the wonderful works that He has performed.

⁵ For He established a testimony (an express precept) in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, commanding our fathers that they should make [the great facts of God’s dealings with Israel] known to their children,

⁶ That the generation to come might know them, that the children still to be born might arise and recount them to their children,

⁷ That they might set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but might keep His commandments

⁸ And might not be as their fathers—a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that set not their hearts aright nor prepared their hearts to know God, and whose spirits were not steadfast and faithful to God.

¹⁷ Yet they still went on to sin against Him by provoking and rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness (in the land of drought).

¹⁸ And they tempted God in their hearts by asking for food according to their [selfish] desire and appetite.

¹⁹ Yes, they spoke against God; they said, Can God furnish [the food for] a table in the wilderness?

²⁰ Behold, He did smite the rock so that waters gushed out and the streams overflowed; but can He give bread also? Can He provide flesh for His people?

²¹ Therefore, when the Lord heard, He was [full of] wrath; a fire was kindled against Jacob, His anger mounted up against Israel,

²² Because in God they believed not [they relied not on Him, they adhered not to Him], and they trusted not in His salvation (His power to save).

²³ Yet He commanded the clouds above and opened the doors of heaven;

²⁴ And He rained down upon them manna to eat and gave them heaven’s grain.^(A)

²⁵ Everyone ate the bread of the mighty [man ate angels’ food]; God sent them meat in abundance.

²⁶ He let forth the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by His power He guided the south wind.

²⁷ He rained flesh also upon them like the dust, and winged birds [quails] like the sand of the seas.^(B)

²⁸ And He let [the birds] fall in the midst of their camp, round about their tents.

²⁹ So they ate and were well filled; He gave them what they craved and lusted after.

26 When you have come into the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance and possess it and live in it,

² You shall take some of the first of all the produce of the soil which you harvest from the land the Lord your God gives you and put it in a basket, and go to the place [the sanctuary] which the Lord your God has chosen as the abiding place for His Name [and His Presence].

³ And you shall go to the priest who is in office in those days, and say to him, I give thanks this day to the Lord your God that I have come to the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.

⁴ And the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God.

⁵ And you shall say before the Lord your God, A wandering and lost Aramean ready to perish was my father [Jacob], and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number, and he became there a nation, great, mighty, and numerous.

⁶ And the Egyptians treated us very badly and afflicted us and laid upon us hard bondage.

⁷ And when we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our [cruel] oppression;

⁸ And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, and with great (awesome) power and with signs and with wonders;

⁹ And He brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

¹⁰ And now, behold, I bring the firstfruits of the ground which You, O Lord, have given me. And you shall set it down before the Lord your God and worship before the Lord your God;

¹¹ And you and the Levite and the stranger and the sojourner among you shall rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given you and your household.

¹² When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce the third year, which is the year of tithing, and have given it to the Levite, the stranger and the sojourner, the fatherless, and to the widow, that they may eat within your towns and be filled,

¹³ Then you shall say before the Lord your God, I have brought the hallowed things (the tithe) out of my house and moreover have given them to the Levite, to the stranger and the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed any of Your commandments, neither have I forgotten them.

¹⁴ I have not eaten of the tithe in my mourning [making the tithe unclean], nor have I handled any of it when I was unclean, nor given any of it to the dead. I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God; I have done according to all that You have commanded me.

¹⁵ Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land which You have given us as You swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.

³⁷ Now when they heard this they were stung (cut) to the heart, and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles (special messengers), Brethren, what shall we do?

³⁸ And Peter answered them, Repent (change your views and purpose to accept the will of God in your inner selves instead of rejecting it) and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of and release from your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

³⁹ For the promise [of the Holy Spirit] is to and for you and your children, and to and for all that are far away, [even] to and for as many as the Lord our God invites and bids to come to Himself.^(A)

⁴⁰ And [Peter] ^[a]solemnly and earnestly witnessed (testified) and admonished (exhorted) with much more continuous speaking and warned (reproved, advised, encouraged) them, saying, Be saved from this crooked (perverse, wicked, unjust) generation.

⁴¹ Therefore those who accepted and welcomed his message were baptized, and there were added that day about 3,000 souls.

⁴² And they steadfastly persevered, devoting themselves constantly to the instruction and fellowship of the apostles, to the breaking of bread [including the Lord’s Supper] and prayers.

⁴³ And a sense of awe (reverential fear) came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were performed through the apostles (the special messengers).

⁴⁴ And all who believed (who adhered to and trusted in and relied on Jesus Christ) were united and [together] they had everything in common;

⁴⁵ And they sold their possessions (both their landed property and their movable goods) and distributed the price among all, according as any had need.

⁴⁶ And day after day they regularly assembled in the temple with united purpose, and in their homes they broke bread [including the Lord’s Supper]. They partook of their food with gladness and simplicity and generous hearts,

⁴⁷ Constantly praising God and being in favor and goodwill with all the people; and the Lord kept adding [to their number] daily those who were being saved [from spiritual death].