Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God’s Guidance of His People in Spite of Their Unfaithfulness.
A [a]Maskil of Asaph.
78 (A)Listen, O my people, to my [b]instruction;
(B)Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will (C)open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter (D)dark sayings of old,
3 Which we have heard and known,
And (E)our fathers have told us.
4 We will (F)not conceal them from their children,
But (G)tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His (H)wondrous works that He has done.
5 For He established a (I)testimony in Jacob
And appointed a (J)law in Israel,
Which He (K)commanded our fathers
That they should [c](L)teach them to their children,
6 (M)That the generation to come might know, even (N)the children yet to be born,
That they may arise and (O)tell them to their children,
7 That they should put their confidence in God
And (P)not forget the works of God,
But (Q)keep His commandments,
8 And (R)not be like their fathers,
A (S)stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that (T)did not [d]prepare its heart
And whose spirit was not (U)faithful to God.
17 Yet they still continued to sin against Him,
To (A)rebel against the Most High in the desert.
18 And in their heart they (B)put God to the test
By asking (C)food according to their desire.
19 Then they spoke against God;
They said, “(D)Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 “Behold, He (E)struck the rock so that waters gushed out,
And streams were overflowing;
Can He give bread also?
Will He provide [a](F)meat for His people?”
21 Therefore the Lord heard and [b]was (G)full of wrath;
And a fire was kindled against Jacob
And anger also mounted against Israel,
22 Because they (H)did not believe in God
And did not trust in His salvation.
23 Yet He commanded the clouds above
And (I)opened the doors of heaven;
24 He (J)rained down manna upon them to eat
And gave them [c](K)food from heaven.
25 Man did eat the bread of [d]angels;
He sent them [e]food [f](L)in abundance.
26 He (M)caused the east wind to blow in the heavens
And by His [g]power He directed the south wind.
27 When He rained [h]meat upon them like the dust,
Even (N)winged fowl like the sand of the seas,
28 Then He let them fall in the midst of [i]their camp,
Round about their dwellings.
29 So they (O)ate and were well filled,
And their desire He gave to them.
Offering First Fruits
26 “Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, and you possess it and live in it, 2 that you shall take some of (A)the first of all the produce of the ground which you bring in from your land that the Lord your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and (B)go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to establish His name. 3 You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare this day to the Lord [a]my God that I have entered the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ 4 Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. 5 You shall answer and say before the Lord your God, ‘(C)My father was a [b]wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt and [c]sojourned there, (D)few in number; but there he became a (E)great, mighty and populous nation. 6 And the (F)Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us. 7 Then (G)we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression; 8 (H)and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders; 9 and He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, (I)a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 Now behold, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground (J)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 (K)the Levite and the alien who is among you shall (L)rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given you and your household.
12 “(M)When you have finished [d]paying all the tithe of your increase in the third year, the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the [e]orphan and to the widow, that they may eat in your [f]towns and be satisfied. 13 You shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion from my house, and also have given it to the Levite and the alien, the [g]orphan and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; (N)I have not transgressed or forgotten any of Your commandments. 14 I have not eaten of it [h]while mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor offered any of it to the dead. I have listened to the voice of the Lord my God; I have done according to all that You have commanded me. 15 (O)Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel, and the ground which You have given us, (P)a land flowing with milk and honey, as You swore to our fathers.’
The Ingathering
37 Now when they heard this, they were [a]pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “[b]Brethren, [c](A)what shall we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “(B)Repent, and each of you be (C)baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For (D)the promise is for you and your children and for all who are (E)far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” 40 And with many other words he solemnly (F)testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “[d]Be saved from this (G)perverse generation!” 41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand [e](H)souls. 42 They were (I)continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to (J)the breaking of bread and [f](K)to prayer.
43 [g]Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many (L)wonders and [h]signs were taking place through the apostles. 44 And all those who had believed [i]were together and (M)had all things in common; 45 and they (N)began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. 46 (O)Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and (P)breaking bread [j]from house to house, they were taking their [k]meals together with gladness and [l]sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and (Q)having favor with all the people. And the Lord (R)was adding [m]to their number day by day (S)those who were being saved.
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