Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people chosen as his inheritance.(A)
IV
13 From heaven the Lord looks down
and observes the children of Adam,(B)
14 From his dwelling place he surveys
all who dwell on earth.
15 The One who fashioned together their hearts
is the One who knows all their works.
V
16 A king is not saved by a great army,
nor a warrior delivered by great strength.
17 Useless is the horse for safety;
despite its great strength, it cannot be saved.
18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear him,
upon those who count on his mercy,
19 To deliver their soul from death,
and to keep them alive through famine.
VI
20 Our soul waits for the Lord,
he is our help and shield.(C)
21 For in him our hearts rejoice;
in his holy name we trust.
22 May your mercy, Lord, be upon us;
as we put our hope in you.
VI. Covenant and Legislation at Mount Sinai
Chapter 19
Arrival at Sinai. 1 (A)In the third month after the Israelites’ departure from the land of Egypt, on the first day, they came to the wilderness of Sinai. 2 After they made the journey from Rephidim and entered the wilderness of Sinai, they then pitched camp in the wilderness.[a]
While Israel was encamped there in front of the mountain, 3 Moses went up to the mountain of God. Then the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying: This is what you will say to the house of Jacob; tell the Israelites: 4 You have seen how I treated the Egyptians and how I bore you up on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.(B) 5 Now, if you obey me completely and keep my covenant,[b] you will be my treasured possession among all peoples,(C) though all the earth is mine. 6 You will be to me a kingdom of priests,[c] a holy nation.(D) That is what you must tell the Israelites. 7 So Moses went and summoned the elders of the people. When he set before them all that the Lord had ordered him to tell them, 8 all the people answered together, “Everything the Lord has said, we will do.” Then Moses brought back to the Lord the response of the people.
9 The Lord said to Moses: I am coming to you now in a dense cloud,(E) so that when the people hear me speaking with you, they will also remain faithful to you.
When Moses, then, had reported the response of the people to the Lord,
Chapter 2
The Coming of the Spirit. 1 [a]When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together.(A) 2 And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind,[b] and it filled the entire house in which they were.(B) 3 Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,[c] which parted and came to rest on each one of them.(C) 4 And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues,[d] as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.(D)
5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. 6 At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?(E) 8 Then how does each of us hear them in his own native language? 9 We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, 11 both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.”(F)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.